Billing & Collections

The results of our annual fee schedule survey tell you how much to expect from payers. The news isn’t good, but we have plenty of advice for making the most of difficult times.

A soon-to-be partner wonders who should pay for an office makeover necessitated by his promotion.

You may not feel wealthy, but a six-figure income makes you vulnerable to threats. Here’s how to protect yourself.

The economy is deteriorating. And healthcare is no longer “recession proof.” Here’s your guide for getting through the worst of times.

Each issue we’ll help you steer clear of hidden pitfalls. This month: Your favorite employee is sweet to you and patients, makes the World’s Best Brownies, and never takes a vacation. But is she robbing you blind?

Patients are looking for ways to cut expenses, just like you. Here’s how to help them balance their health needs with their financial challenges.

Our physician-focused personal finance column returns by popular demand. This month: How to build just the right team of advisers.

Few things in medical practice can cause as much rancor as the development of a new physician compensation plan. Divvying up limited revenue bruises egos and leads to charges of unfairness - especially in oncology, with its numerous subspecialists of varying income expectations. Better know how to do it right.

Think pediatricians don’t have any clout? Think again. Learn how practices like yours got more from payers.

There’s encouraging news in our third annual Physician Compensation Survey. Primary-care docs are seeing their incomes tick upward - on average. Where do you stack up?

A medical-malpractice insurance company says it will offer discounts to cash-only and concierge-style physicians. The reason: They’re less likely to be sued.

You’d like to reward good employees with above-cost-of-living raises every year, but you can’t. Here’s our advice on how to keep loyal staff on board without overpaying.

If you’re trying to go broke, our list of common money-losers will get you there fast! We can show you how to tighten those nuts and bolts, and stem your cash drain.

Your employees are facing a raft of new bread-and-butter economic problems. Here’s how you can help, without breaking your bank.

You’ve been the backbone of your practice for years, but your compensation hasn’t changed much. Do you have to move out to move up?

So you think you can run an insurance company better than the current establishment? What if you actually could own an insurance company? Is it just a crazy pipe dream…?

Medicare has been scrutinizing your practice for more than a year through its P-4-P program. But how is the program performing for you? We put Uncle Sam on our exam table.

Family physician Brian Forrest on how his cash-only practice works for him and his patients.

Practice partnerships can be like families - and sometimes, family members fight. But when partners know how to fight fair, disagreements between them shouldn’t spell doom for your practice.

Have you ever wondered what price tag a valuation professional would put on your practice? The answer often depends on who’s asking - and why.

The government’s experiment with private Medicare Advantage plans has been an expensive failure. Except, that is, for the companies raking in the dough.

Payers love judging your performance, but who’s watching theirs? Now in its third year, PayerView is the only data-based method of analyzing payer performance and ranking payers against one another - and we have it exclusively for you. Who’s been good this year? Who’s been naughty? You can check our list as often as you’d like.

Dispensing corporate cell phones may be a given in your practice, but don’t fall into a money trap.

Overtime pay is expensive. Here’s how to keep it under control.

Paying too much for liability insurance? Join the club. While premiums have stabilized in most areas, and are starting to decline in some, rates are still staggeringly high. But there are things you can do to lower your premiums right now. Here’s our guide for getting the best deal out there.

More physicians are demanding part-time and flex-time arrangements, but these can wreak havoc on your call and patient schedules, and your compensation system. Here’s how to keep everyone happy.

Congress has made empty threats to cut Medicare payments before. But this time the risk seems more real - and the cuts are planned for July 1. What to do?

In this, the second of our six-part series on launching a new practice from scratch, expert Laurie Hyland Robertson explains how to develop a reasonable budget for the early years. Don’t even think about opening your own shop until you’ve read this.

You know that some payers pay better than others, but do you know how to increase your practice’s proportion of patients with better-paying insurers? Here are our strategies for improving your payer mix.

Here’s the right way to develop your annual budget.