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Your team works hard to keep claims clean and cash flowing. But despite those efforts, revenue still gets stuck in denials, delays, and manual processes, which slow reimbursement and strain cash flow.
In this Tebra webinar, multi-practice owner Dr. John Scala, internal medicine and pediatrics, and Loren Dilger, CEO of reCLAIM Billing Solutions, sat down with Miriam Datskovsky, Senior Content Marketing Programs Manager at Tebra, to discuss 5 strategies to accelerate cash flow and reduce denials.
Our webinar recap will dive into how to formalize processes, prevent denials, and deploy automation that speeds payment — without creating more busywork for you or your practice clients.
1. Build the right team
Start with what you already do well, then add the support that fills gaps and increases capacity. The webinar presents the choice that practices must make simply: outsourced vs in-house billing.
On the one hand, a practice can outsource billing for a team approach, up-to-date payer rules, and pattern recognition across specialties.
“You need a team approach because it’s so complex,” Dr. Scala emphasized.
On the other hand, a practice can keep billing in-house, which ensures 100% focus on its organization but can leave it vulnerable to turnover, competing duties, and limited depth.
The challenge for medical billers:
- If you’re in-house, preserve focus, but plan for coverage and expertise needs when roles shift or volume spikes.
- If you’re at a billing company, lean into the team model and cross-practice insights to spot trends early for clients.
Treat billing as a team sport. Dr. Scala noted that his billing staff and front desk are in almost daily contact to keep information accurate and claims moving.
2. Strengthen client relationships
High-performing billing operations are built on trust, transparency, and cadence. The best way to maintain relationships with those characteristics comes down to clear expectations and frequent touchpoints.
Tips to do this well:
- Onboard intentionally: Treat onboarding as the first service. Document workflows, align roles, and act as an extension of the practice — not a separate vendor.
- Be transparent: Share what’s working. Quarterly audits that reveal write-offs, open items, and KPIs help both sides fix issues and prevent repeat problems.
- Communicate daily: Keep front desk, providers, and billers informed to resolve eligibility, demographics, and coding questions fast.
- Think long-term: Set goals together, over-communicate at the start, and hold each other accountable while tracking KPIs.
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3. Establish strong processes
Reliable billing runs on clear, shared routines. Tebra’s data shows that only 41% of billers fully document and standardize their processes, while 17% do no documentation at all. Teams that document see 40% fewer denials, which makes process work one of the fastest paths to better cash flow.
How to manage processes:
- Document the flow: Write down the key components, including eligibility, charge capture, coding reviews, and other relevant details.
- Name owners: Clarify who is responsible for each step and who backs them up.
- Set update triggers: Recheck processes when you add providers or services, codes change, technology shifts, or payer policies move.
- Use your data: Track first-pass acceptance, denial rate, days in A/R, and top remark codes. Then, turn repeat fixes into simple how-tos.
- Keep providers current: Plan annual coding refreshers so documentation aligns with current rules.
Dilger also notes to respond to data, no inclinations. “If the data is showing that something isn’t working, that’s your signal to adjust it, versus a feeling or looking at one era. You want to look at the trends. An issue that might seem huge might end up being 0.2% of your collections.”
Clear, current processes reduce rework, speed submission, and help more claims go out clean the first time.
4. Proactively reduce denials
Prevention keeps cash moving. According to Tebra research, 60% of denied claims are never resubmitted, so fixing issues before submission protects revenue and saves time on appeals.
Dr. Scala says his best tip for preventing errors has to do with the front desk: “One of the most important things that reduces probably 90% of errors is the front desk person asking every patient these simple six words: ‘Any changes to insurance or address?’”
“One of the most important things that reduces probably 90% of errors is the front desk person asking every patient these simple six words: ‘Any changes to insurance or address?’”
How to prevent denials:
- Scrub before you send: Catch missing data, modifier mismatches, and documentation gaps upfront.
- Confirm at every touchpoint: Ask about primary or secondary insurance during scheduling and check-in to avoid coordination of benefits issues.
- Close the loop: Turn recurring errors into one-page cheat sheets and share them with providers.
- Escalate what matters: Flag high-value or timely denials for same-day attention and document the resolution.
Focus on one meaningful use case that saves 10 minutes each day. Use first-pass acceptance and days in A/R to track progress and plan your next step.
5. Automate strategically
Automation helps when it supports your processes and keeps you in control. Start small, prove a win, then build on it.
Try automating these steps first:
- Verify eligibility twice: Ask once at scheduling and a second time 2 days before the visit, then flag mismatches for follow-up.
- Enable basic claim checks: Verify missing or conflicting information before submission.
- Create follow-up reminders: Automatically send gentle yet frequent follow-up reminders.
- Connect EHR and billing systems: Move codes from notes to claims without retyping, and add a quick human review before you send.
“We've built automation into our processes through rule-based engines for claim scrubbing and A/R management,” said Dilger. “This helps us identify coding errors, flag missing information, and correct issues before submission. This significantly does reduce denials ... the more efficient we are on the front end and the safety net we are for the provider, the less denials we'll get, the less work we have, the more money everybody has.”
“The more efficient we are on the front end and the safety net we are for the provider, the less denials we'll get, the less work we have, the more money everybody has.”
Put these strategies to work
Getting paid faster comes from small, steady improvements — the right team, clear relationships, documented steps, cleaner claims, and smart automation. These 5 strategies serve as a starting point that you can put to work this week.
For the full discussion and practical tips from Dr. John Scala and Loren Dilger, watch the webinar.
Download the slides
Download the webinar slides here to further develop strategies to accelerate cash flow and reduce denials.
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