How EFT And ERA Improve Billing Efficiency

Rapidly evolving dental care relied heavily on electronic transactions such as EFT and ERA. With an understanding of managing complex billing, enhancing compliance, and elevating patient satisfaction.
Dental clinics' everyday challenge is to process a large amount of claims, which include remittance paperwork. EFT and ERA, which are known as Electronic Funds Transfer and Electronic Remittance Advice, are the end of the revenue cycle that involve payments from insurance companies. More than 22% of the payments are typed information due to constraints on providing ERA.

This time-consuming process takes a toll on providers. EOB has all the details about payments, which is very important for the service provider to update and maintain for accurate accounting. Let's discuss further about EFT and ERA. But before that, let's have a look at EOB.

EOB is not a bill

A formal manual documentation by insurance companies to the service provider that includes claim approval or denial status, reimbursement amount, reimbursed claims, adjusted claims, and details such as code declined, expected copayments, and patient financial responsibility. This documentation is a tool that helps patients understand how the bill is broken down, known as an Explanation of Benefits.

The provider receives the report within 60-90days. The manual mistake affects the outcome. The survey demonstrated that 25% of each dollar expenditure is on files and office work related to dental billing.

EFT and ERA saved the day

Both are advanced technological tools that save a lot of money and time. Let's discuss in detail.
ERA (Electronic Remittance Advice) is an electronic data exchange protected by HIPAA. It contains payment information sent by the payers. Paper-based EOBs are obsolete due to ERAs.
Some of the details included in ERA:

• Settled Claims
• Reimbursement
• Claim Update
• Amount adjustment as per the contract
• Coordination of Benefits
• Coverage
• Expected co-sharing
• Denied Claims with reasons
• Patient financial obligation
• Installments if applicable
• Payment modes such as check, online

ERA is universally adaptable and does not require manual intervention. No paper filing, manual payment posting, and no mail collecting are considered standard. With digital platforms, dental practitioners can reflect the full picture and eradicate the issues. ERA report focuses on insights from errors and claim status to reveal gaps and avoid future submissions and clearances.

The manual payment posting version costs $15,000 annually, a consistently high price that could hurt the revenue. On the other hand, ERAs make it easier with no printing, storage, or maintenance costs, and finally, no administrative costs.

In a dental care environment that demands faster results, precision, and measurable results. It takes 60-120 days to follow up on claim errors, which is not a competitive edge. The staff have to juggle between tasks and cannot concentrate on patients.

ERA's responsibility is a significant portion of the collection through monitoring and managing denial management. Separate ERA files on the same TIN(tax identification number) with additional security in handling the data.

EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) is a method used by insurance agencies to electronically deposit claim payments into a provider bank account with robust security. EFTs get settled within 1-5 business days and protect sensitive data.

The EFT message clarifies:

• The amount to be paid,
• Payee & the payer name and identification details,
• Account details, and
• The routing number with the payment date.

The handling time is quick with easy reference. The practitioners can manage multiple accounts and payments through online data availability. EFT controls self-user access and prevents manipulation in payment loss or deposits. More importantly, EFTs are explicit and processed through the Automatic Clearing House (ACH) network.

ERA and EFT are the what and how that work together.

Strong Points of EFT and ERA
EFT and ERA fulfill the quality. The EFT notifies the deposit upon resolution of claims. An ERA is a formal document about the receipt of payments made to the service provider bank account. Both EFT and ERA simplify the payment process.

Why choose EFT?

• EFT accelerates payments from paper checks to direct deposit into an account, improving cash flow.
• Payments can be matched easily from references to remittances.
• No additional expenses for printing, posting, or manual labor costs.
• Minimizing errors by eliminating manual entries and directly importing files to the management system.
• Secure transfers with no lost payments.
• Multiple bank accounts for multiple insurance payments, with no confusion, and remittances can be viewed later if necessary.
• Resilient protection of privacy to ensure user access is restricted, with no inaccurate credit deposits.
• Reporting tools are user-friendly and easy to navigate.
• EFT tools require the bank account details of providers and the bank identifier number for transfers. They help the clearinghouses or insurers to proceed with the payments. The payer verifies before initiating EFT.

Why choose ERA?

• Payment reconciliation is fast through automatic processes. Providers can manage cross-referencing with the submitted claims to spot discrepancies immediately.
• Prompt compliance, no administrative cost, and reduced transaction time.
• Fewer manual entries in the payment posting procedure.
• Deploying the resources for streamlined work efficiency.
• Implementing ERA can lower annual expenses by $15,000.
• ERA makes accounting easy to reconcile accounts.
• The reporting provides insights for denials, deductibles, co-pays, and adjustments.
• Finally, enhanced collection and easy access to patient statements.
• For the ERA mechanism, the provider collaborates with clearinghouses or insurers to use the preferred delivery method, ensuring compatibility.

Outsource to Capline Dental Services for EFT and ERA Services

The future is a strategic partnership that optimizes revenue cycle management and elevates patient delight. Payment posting is a highly sensitive issue, and as an experienced company, we are aware of the multifaceted challenges of compliance standards.

The experts at Capline stay ahead with technological advancements for better revenue. By sorting denials and adjustments, providers offer treatment, and we resolve ongoing issues. Team ensuring the accuracy of EFTs to respective ERAs.