Any suggestions on where I should go from here to find work or if it was just a waste of my time and money to take this course.

Felicia, I could swear that’s the same thing I told you back when you first came to me months ago when you were attempting to find a company out there that will hire people to process their overflow of claims. It was an honor mentoring you, I am sincerely proud of your progress and most of all to see you taking on the responsibility of being a mentor to others.

Paul G. Hackett

I do hope that anyone who is considering applying to one of these ads for doing billing at home – reads this before they make the plunge.

I have been doing medical billing for about 20 years, originally in New York and now for the last 9 years in Florida.

Please make note, that it took me about 5 years before I gained enough knowledge of billing practices, insurance regulations, filing/submission dead lines, billing codes, diagnosis codes and modifiers to properly submit claims.

Once you have the knowledge, you then must have enough cash to pay for legitimate billing software, for a single user this will cost you upwards of $1,000.00. It will include support for the first year, but after that you will need to pay for any other support.

Then, you will have to figure out whether or not you want to send paper claims or electronic claims. If you choose electronic claims, you will have to pay a clearing house a per month fee to send claims to the appropriate insurance companies. I pay about $90.00 per month for this service. Oh, by the way, you will need money to eat and pay rent while your business grows.

If you choose to send your claims on paper you will need to purchase CMS-1500 claim forms that must be filled out by the direction of each insurance company. I have about 300 insurance companies in my system and about half need different information. Then, you will need to purchase stamps at .44 cents each. If you have 200 claims a week to send out, you’re talking about $88.00.

If you incorporate your business, you’ll need a tax ID#, and most states charge annual fees. Also, it is usually illegal to work at home without documents on file with local agencies.

I strongly urge anyone who is considering doing business at home as an insurance biller or collections specalist, to have experience like being an assistant to a senior biller for no less than 4 years. A couple of years as a senior biller is also needed. After 15 years, I became self-employed in 2005 and have enjoyed every minute of it.

This is what is needed to start thinking about becoming self-employed. Make sure you leave your work positions with good standing, as these doctors will be the ones that get your name around to other doctors for new clients.

Good Luck, and Good Business!