Staying Profitable in DME Billing Despite Inflation

How has Inflation Impacted DME Billing?

The US economy is currently in the grip of a rising inflation. Like all other areas, it is making its presence felt in the healthcare domain, too. Inflation continues to be a source of major worry for DME providers everywhere. Besides a general rise in the price of raw materials and a shortage of supply, the most critical problem at hand appears to be an alarming dearth of skilled labor. And this is where the DME billing sector has been most badly hit.

The pandemic has caused quite an upheaval in the employment scenario. Those who had been engaged in medical billing and coding either lost their jobs or were forced to move into new professions. Even as the world continues to totter back to normalcy, it is becoming very difficult to fill up the vacuum left by them. With skilled workers demanding exorbitant remuneration, coupled with an overall increase in operational expenses, DME billing has suddenly become more expensive than ever. Smaller providers are finding it extremely difficult to hire the requisite number of skilled billers and coders at the current asking pay scale. So is there really a way that such practices can still maintain profitability amidst rising costs everywhere?

Ray of Hope for DME billing

The answer lies in looking beyond one’s immediate environment. Since the current state of US economy is not permitting thrifty in-house staffing, it makes better sense for DME providers to seek out more economical external assistance. In other words, strategic off-shore outsourcing of DME billing services is the key.

Outsourcing of key business processes to dedicated, professional external partners has always been present. It is not a novel idea, to be honest. But the benefits of it have rarely been felt more strongly than now. The way it works is very simple, really. Most of these specialized service providers, while having a US address and business identity, have their operation centers located in other countries where the cost of labor is low. Thus, they are able to provide all the medical billing and coding support that your business needs, at a cost that is remarkably low.

Moreover, by virtue of their off-shore location, such agencies are free from the clutches of any inflation that might impact the US market. As such, they can easily afford to continue giving services at a constant low rate even when the local US economy is experiencing severe ups and downs. Add to it the fact that many such external billing partners work on a profit sharing model (meaning that they charge a fixed, pre-agreed percentage of your monthly collections as their remuneration), it is in their best interest to try to collect more for you. It is a win-win situation where both parties stand to gain from their mutual association.



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