Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) in Medical Billing

Healthcare providers nationwide are discovering the significant benefits of electronic claim submission and reconciliation. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), tools like electronic remittance advice (ERA) in medical billing save practices approximately $10,000 annually for each billing provider in the group. How? ERA automates manual processes, reduces administrative costs, and provides greater accuracy and speed when receiving claim payments.

Commonly referred to as the ANSI 835 file, the ERA in medical billing is the electronic equivalent of a paper Explanation of Benefits (EOB). It indicates how much the insurance company paid on the claim and identifies reasons for any denial of benefits.

Prior to the ERA, staff for a healthcare provider would have to spend hours manually reviewing each claim, posting payments, and reconciling any claim submission errors. Now that entire process can be automated with the 835 ERA module from BillingTracker, ClinicTracker's premium medical billing software. This medical billing feature saves office staff from having to collect mail, file paper documents, manually post payments, and adjudicate claims with payers.

Another advantage of electronic remittance advice is that insurers pay electronic submissions faster, which improves your cash flow. The use of electronic funds transfer as part of your medical billing can further expedite the payment process.

The tedious task of managing paper remittance reports is a thing of the past. Healthcare practices that adopt ERA and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) simplify the billing process and improve their revenue cycle management. 

According to studies on the benefits of using ERA, you will recoup your investment in just a few months, at most. In addition to the inevitable boost in operational efficiency in the medical/behavioral health industry, you will also improve payment accuracy and accelerate the payment process thanks to electronic communication and electronic payments.

In short, adopting ERA offers numerous benefits:

• Accelerated Cash Flow: Insurers process electronic submissions faster, improving cash flow for your practice.
• Reduced Administrative Costs: By automating time-consuming tasks such as payment posting and claim reconciliation, ERA helps reduce manual labor and errors.
• Simplified Contract Agreements: ERA allows for streamlined management of payer contract agreements and payment details, making for accurate claims and payments.

• What Does ERA Stand for in Medical Billing?
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