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What is ERA in Medical Billing and Its Advantages

What is ERA in Medical Billing and Its Advantages

Automating the revenue cycle process saves time and effort for healthcare staff. In addition, moving from manual paperwork to electronic claim submission streamlines communication between healthcare providers and payers. Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) replaces manual work with an efficient reconciliation process. Likewise, ERA in medical billing keeps the data accurate and transparent. Further, providers can get medical billing services to ensure accurate ERA. Let’s dig deeper into it and see how it benefits medical practices.

What is an Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA)?

ERA is an electronic version of EOB (Explanation of Benefits) and shows details about the payments made by insurance companies. Similarly, it contains the details of the amount billed and the insurance company’s payment will be made. Also, the electronic remittance advice mentions any changes in the amount paid by the health plan. The ERA contains the details of adjustments and claims adjudication; hence, it explains the amount paid to healthcare providers.

The Components of an ERA

Electronic remittance advice may seem complex in the beginning. However, educating healthcare staff can make things easy. In addition, understanding the ERA in medical billing leads to effective communication between providers and payers. Here are the main components of the ERS:

Header information

The header information contains the following:

  • Total payment amount
  • EFT numbers
  • Payer tax information
  • Payment method
  • Payer identification

Claim details

This section contains the following information:

  • Claim and account number
  • Status of the claim
  • Submitted Charge
  • Current claim status
  • Patient identification information
  • Reduction and denial reasons

Trailer

  • Capitation payments
  • IRS levy
  • Overpayment recovery
  • Forwarding balance

Advantages of ERAs

There are many ways in which ERA can help optimize practice performance. Here are some advantages:

Increased Practice Automation

As electronic remittance advice replaces the manual process of EOBs, it becomes less time-consuming. As a result, it saves front-office staff time and automates the process. The staff can spend time on other core functions of a medical practice. Further, ERA in medical billing takes less time to create and share with relevant people.

Improved Accuracy

The ERAs improve accuracy as no manual work is involved. Likewise, they reduce errors in the medical billing process and prevent payment delays. As a result, medical practices can create seamless communication with insurance payers.

Faster Payments

Insurance payers generally make payments quickly to healthcare providers who use electronic remittance advice, which improves a medical practice’s overall revenue cycle management process.

Better Payment Tracking

While a manual process of EOBs makes tracking payments difficult, ERAs are electronic, and it is easier to do so. Additionally, they reduce accounts receivable and improve the overall accuracy of the medical billing process.

Increased Standardization

Health plans use a standardized set of HIPAA-compliant ERA codes that show detailed information about the payment. ERA in medical billing creates a standardized denial management process and helps to compare various payers. Further, it allows medical practices to find and address claim submission issues.

Easy Reconciliation and Better Cash Flow

Electronic remittance advice makes reconciling payments with medical claims easier and simplifies accounts receivable reconciliation. As a result, medical practices receive faster payments and optimize cash flow. Further, it enhances healthcare providers’ financial outcomes.

Reporting and Compliance

ERAs are electronic and help streamline overall collections. Similarly, it provides reports and analytics that help medical practices make better decisions. In addition, these metrics help healthcare providers to improve practice efficiency.

Conclusion

With electronic remittance advice, it becomes much easier for medical practices to track payments and reduce accounts receivable. In addition, healthcare providers can streamline communication with health plans. ERA also improves a medical practice’s financial outcomes and enhances operational efficiency. Using ERA in medical billing reduces the burden of manual paperwork and helps medical practices stay on top of their collections.

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