To assist you in preparing for your job interview, we’ve put together a list of the top interview questions frequently asked for medical billing and coding positions. Included are also the rationale behind these inquiries and what the interviewer is most likely seeking. When interviewing for jobs in medical billing, we either asked ourselves or were asked the following questions.
It’s crucial for medical billing specialists as well as medical coders to have a basic understanding of medical billing terminology. In order to understand how the billing process works, make sure you are familiar with the more fundamental medical terms related to billing and coding.
I would anticipate that this question would be asked more frequently for jobs involving medical coding. Medical billing certification is a definite plus, but I haven’t seen that as a requirement for jobs that are solely in that field. Certification does demonstrate your dedication to your profession and compliance with a set of minimum requirements. If you are asked if you are certified, assuming you are not, a good response would be that you are working towards certification. However, focus on the experience and skills you do have rather than the credentials you don’t have.
For healthcare professionals who see a lot of Medicare or Medicaid patients, this would be one of the most important interview questions. Government payers can be difficult and challenging to bill for. CMS can be difficult to work with because there is more paperwork and that payments typically take longer. Providers who see a lot of Medicare patients will be interested in your understanding of Medicare, prior experience with it, and capacity for problem-solving.
The longer claims go unpaid, the less likely it is that they will be paid, so how do you handle claims that are rejected or unpaid? Receiving claims that have been rejected or denied corrected and resubmitted can bring in a lot of money for a provider. Effectiveness and experience of a prospective biller or coder are crucial to a practice’s accounts receivables and are probably among the most frequently asked interview questions.
Which Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems are you familiar with and have you used? How did you use it? Using medical records software, also known as EMR or EHR software, is becoming more and more crucial for providers. They might want the biller, coder, or both to input and update data in the EMR system. Employers value candidates who are skilled in using electronic medical records software. When confirming patient data and treatments for a claim, it can also be a useful tool for billers and coders. A growing number of billing and practice management software applications integrate with or interface with the EMR system.
For jobs in medical billing and coding, it helps to be able to create and share documents, reports, manage and upload files, and perform backups. You should also mention any experience you have with word processing (Microsoft Word) and spreadsheet programs (Excel).
What practice management or medical claims software do you have experience with? Once you have learned one practice management or medical billing software program, it is fairly simple to learn another. Most well written software is fairly intuitive to use. You could effectively make this point and highlight your computer skills if you’ve only used software.
When sending claims to a clearinghouse, there may be format or compatibility issues, especially when setting them up. Do you know how to submit claims to a clearinghouse? Have you ever set up a provider with a clearinghouse? Have you ever resolved claim submittal issues with them? Additionally, there is a ton of paperwork and forms to complete when you register a provider or practice. The majority of clearinghouses also offer beneficial reporting features that can be used to clean up and identify claim mistakes so they can be fixed before being sent to the insurance company. Understanding and being able to use these features and tools is valuable experience.
Many practices need to run reports from their practice management software that show their financial status and performance, unpaid claims, patient balances, etc. Do you know how to run reports? Can you customize reports? The capability to design and alter these reports is unquestionably advantageous. In meetings with providers, they frequently state that they would like to see particular data in a particular format. Of course, there are times when the reporting features of the software cannot produce the desired results. It is crucial for a provider to understand how to extract data from the practice management software, or database.
Certain specialties have particular coding and billing requirements; what specialties have you billed or coded for? For instance, some specialties in mental health have visitation restrictions and demand pre-authorizations. In order to prevent surprises for either the patient or the provider, these must be monitored. If you lack experience in this provider’s specialty, focus on your experience billing for other specialty-specific specialties and your capacity to adapt to and comprehend specialty-specific billing requirements.
This is pretty self explanatory and more likely one of the top interview questions to ask of coders: What procedure codes are you most familiar with? Reviewing some of the more prevalent codes used in their particular specialty before the interview is a good idea.
The medical insurance specialist should have a thorough understanding of how write-offs and co-pays are applied, how deductibles and co-insurance are calculated, and how to explain the differences between co-pays, deductibles, and co-insurance. The insurance company frequently determines these based on the EOB, but it’s crucial to comprehend how they are calculated. To ensure they get paid, some providers demand the patient to pay their co-insurance and apply deductibles upfront before claims are filed.
Questions about HIPAA laws are increasingly common in interviews, so do you know its privacy and security regulations? It’s crucial to understand HIPAA privacy requirements because medical billers and coders have access to sensitive patient data. Additionally, you might be in charge of maintaining the confidentiality of patient data and computer systems. Make sure you are knowledgeable about HIPAA requirements and are able to provide a basic explanation of what they are, as well as what obligations providers (and their staff) have under them.
Do you frequently deal with insurance companies to resolve issues involving unpaid or rejected (denied) claims? Medical billing specialists frequently deal with insurance companies to obtain an explanation of why a claim was rejected and what is required to get it paid. Having an understanding of the insurance claim procedure and dealing with payers is crucial for getting claims paid. Due to this, one of the most common interview questions asked by employers is this one. It also highlights a flaw in many providers’ billing strategies.
Every practice has some outstanding unpaid claims (A/R or Accounts Receivable) or patient balances. Have you worked on insurance or patient accounts receivables? may have a sizeable sum of money “stranded” while awaiting the resolution of claim issues. It is a huge plus if you have experience settling unpaid claims and lowering accounts receivable. Because so many practices struggle with unpaid claims, these types of questions frequently appear as one of the top interview questions.
Knowing how to file an appeal with the insurance carrier is crucial in resolving denied claims. Have you ever appealed a denied claim? What’s your procedure? It requires patience because the appeals process is different for almost all insurance companies in terms of requirements, timelines, and processes. It’s not always straightforward for a reason.
Medical billing and coding specialists typically don’t get involved with “hard” or intense collection efforts – this is typically left to the collection agency. How much experience do you have with patient collections? However, they typically engage in “soft” type collections, which could consist of a polite phone call or letter to the patient reminding them that their insurance company has already paid, that they have a past-due balance, and offering to make payment arrangements. For the more past-due accounts, it might be a warning that if arrangements are not made soon, their account will be turned over to collections.
If you work as a medical billing specialist, you will eventually have to deal with a difficult or angry patient. Frequently, they are frustrated by their insurance coverage and vent their anger at you, the person delivering the bad news. Therefore, when they receive a statement, that’s when they typically call the billing department to inquire as to why they owe anything or why it is so expensive. When that happens, it’s critical that the biller patiently explains their insurance coverage and directs them to call their insurance provider for more information. One of the most common interview questions for billers is usually one pertaining to dealing with patients.
It is recommended to process claims within 72 hours (3 days) of the date of service, so how long does it take you to process a day’s worth of charges? Medical providers want assurances that the medical coders and billers will submit payment claims on time.
There will inevitably be interview questions you just can’t answer or a situation you don’t have experience in. If this happens, follow these tips to turn a negative into a positive. Never respond negatively in those circumstances, such as “I can’t… ” or “I don’t know…”. Answer the question in a way that highlights your abilities to learn and adapt quickly, your knowledge, or your strengths. Prospective employers prefer candidates who won’t need a lot of guidance or burden the current staff. They need someone who can pick things up quickly and be proactive.
Don’t be alarmed, for instance, if they inquire about your knowledge of electronic medical record systems and you have none. You can respond in a way that demonstrates your proficiency with computers and experience using a variety of practice management systems. You can also demonstrate that you can learn a new piece of software in a day. You could also claim that most of these programs are user-friendly and that EMR software will be compatible with your computer skills.
The most crucial question in an interview is probably one that isn’t even a question: “Tell me about yourself.” This is probably one of the most crucial interview questions for any job. It’s an open-ended opportunity for you to sell yourself.
Instead, use it to highlight your experience, training, accomplishments, etc. rather than listing all of your personal interests, pastimes, and hobbies. and how they relate to the job. Don’t respond for too long; instead, prepare a statement that explains why you are the best person for the job in no more than five minutes.
Success Stories Having some “success stories” or examples you can use to illustrate your capacity to act decisively and resolve issues will help you prepare for these top interview questions. You can bring these up during the interview. Potential employers will be very impressed. Providing concrete examples of your abilities can really impress the interviewer and set you apart from the other applicants.
Results: Describe how your actions affected the numbers, for example, “reduced accounts payable by 75%.” ” or “reduced unpaid claims by 50%. ”.
Even if you lack skills in some of the areas mentioned in the aforementioned top interview questions, giving a potential employer a few brief success stories or examples can really impress them and show them how you can help them. Ideally, you should have two or three of these examples on hand. There is no reason why these examples couldn’t be included on your resume.
Charge Posting
Jobs for medical billing professionals
You might want to take a look at the following jobs if you’re interested in a career in medical billing:
Please be aware that Indeed is not connected to any of the organizations mentioned in this article.
Can you explain the difference between copays, deductibles and coinsurance?
These three terms denote the sum of the payments made by a payer and a patient under an insurance contract. Since medical billers are accountable for ensuring that each amount is accurately charged on a claim, this question tests your understanding of these crucial distinctions. Give definitions for each term and describe how you use this knowledge at work in your response.
“A copay is what the insurance requires a patient to pay at the time of their visit,” for instance Depending on whether the patient sees a general practitioner or a specialist, this amount may change. Any portion of a claim that an insurance payer declines to pay is known as coinsurance. Some patients may have supplemental insurance to cover these amounts. Last but not least, a deductible is the total amount that a patient must fork over out of pocket before their insurance company begins to pay.
Knowing the distinctions between these three terms enables me to confirm that funds are charged to the appropriate insurance component on the explanation of benefits, or EOB, guaranteeing that patients only pay what is necessary in accordance with their insurance plan. “.
10 common medical billing interview questions
There will be some commonalities among job and company interviews for medical billing positions. Here are 10 queries and sample answers to help you create your own compelling arguments:
If you are a science graduate, have experience with medical terminology, want to work in the healthcare sector, and want to become a medical billing specialist, begin your journey at the wisdom jobs online portal and learn the skills necessary to do so. Medical billing is crucial to a hospital’s financial health. The act of collecting patient information in the form of codes is known as medical billing. Medical billers use the medical biller’s reports to submit claims to the insurance company. As the healthcare industry adds and redefines new rules and regulations, medical billing specialists are crucial. They must be adaptable and willing to learn the necessary character traits. The professionals who follow up on past-due invoices by contacting patients directly are known as medical billing specialists. In order to take advantage of this opportunity, review the medical billing adaptive interview questions and answers. Then, begin your career in a flexible setting.
Success Stories Having some “success stories” or examples you can use to illustrate your capacity to act decisively and resolve issues will help you prepare for these top interview questions. You can bring these up during the interview. Potential employers will be very impressed. Providing concrete examples of your abilities can really impress the interviewer and set you apart from the other applicants.
For jobs in medical billing and coding, it helps to be able to create and share documents, reports, manage and upload files, and perform backups. You should also mention any experience you have with word processing (Microsoft Word) and spreadsheet programs (Excel).
The longer claims go unpaid, the less likely it is that they will be paid, so how do you handle claims that are rejected or unpaid? Receiving claims that have been rejected or denied corrected and resubmitted can bring in a lot of money for a provider. Effectiveness and experience of a prospective biller or coder are crucial to a practice’s accounts receivables and are probably among the most frequently asked interview questions.
Which Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems are you familiar with and have you used? How did you use it? Using medical records software, also known as EMR or EHR software, is becoming more and more crucial for providers. They might want the biller, coder, or both to input and update data in the EMR system. Employers value candidates who are skilled in using electronic medical records software. When confirming patient data and treatments for a claim, it can also be a useful tool for billers and coders. A growing number of billing and practice management software applications integrate with or interface with the EMR system.
For healthcare professionals who see a lot of Medicare or Medicaid patients, this would be one of the most important interview questions. Government payers can be difficult and challenging to bill for. CMS can be difficult to work with because there is more paperwork and that payments typically take longer. Providers who see a lot of Medicare patients will be interested in your understanding of Medicare, prior experience with it, and capacity for problem-solving.
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Posted on 25 Feb 2021
FAQ
What are the 10 most common interview questions and answers?
10 most common interview questions and answersTell me about yourself. What attracted you to our company?Tell me about your strengths. Tell me about a time when you faced a business challenge. What are your weaknesses? Where do you see yourself in five years?
How do you do a charge entry?
Steps to Manage Charge Entry Process:Files Receipt. Downloads and Allocations of Files. Patient Demographic Details Entry. EOB Follow-Up. Claim Denial Analysis. Feedback From Clients.
What is meant by charge entry?
Charge entry is the procedure you use to enter accurate medical billing information and assign diagnosis codes, procedures codes, and modifiers before you submit a claim to your health insurance or vision plan.
What are entry-level interview questions?
Entry-Level Specific Interview QuestionsWhy are you interested in this role? . What do you know about our company? . What skills did your internship teach you that will help you in the job you’re applying for? What classwork has best prepared you for this role? . How would you assess your writing and communication skills?.
