Burned out from provider pushback on coding issues and reimbursement in small practice
Hi all, I’m trying to see if this is a common experience for people in coding and billing and how others deal with providers who push back on coding advice.
I work for a small private practice, and I constantly feel dismissed by our main provider/boss when it comes to coding and billing questions. I went to school for this, and I know how to research guidelines and payer policies. But whenever I answer a question or bring something up, it feels like my input gets ignored or treated like I must be wrong.
I’ve even overheard him telling a coworker to contact a billing specialist at another office for her opinion instead of trusting mine, and she ended up giving the exact same answer I already gave.
One of the biggest issues is that when I explain why something may not be billable for a certain payer or why a denial happened, his response is usually, “Well Medicare pays for it, and they’re the strictest, so I don’t know why this insurance is denying it.” Then he keeps wanting to do it the same way anyway.
Lately he’s also been questioning me a lot about reimbursements being down and asking if I’m missing claims or doing something wrong. I’ve explained that our patient volume has dropped a lot over the last few years, so reimbursements are obviously going to be lower too. But it feels like he keeps bringing it up like he’s waiting for me to admit I messed something up.
For those who work in coding and billing, especially in smaller practices, how do you deal with providers who push back or don’t seem to trust your knowledge? Have you found good ways to explain things without it turning into an argument?