Acupuncture Credentialing

I was speaking with an acupuncturist recently who told me the following story. He said, “This past weekend I took a training course, to learn more about insurance credentialing and medical billing. As I sat in the classroom early on a Sunday morning, the speaker said, ‘Raise your hand if, while you were in school, you told yourself “I’m never accepting insurance!”‘ We all chuckled, and raised our hands. He laughed too and said ‘look at all of you now!’ We all laughed in spite of ourselves.”

Medical credentialing—the process of getting on insurance panels—has been an important part of healthcare practices for decades, especially for practices like “family medicine” where patients have—for years and years—expected to be able to use their insurance plans when soliciting medical services. However, for some types of practices like mental health services, massage therapy services, and (you guessed it) acupuncture, the change has been more recent.

That being said, while just a few years ago potential clients/patients would sheepishly ask “do you accept my insurance?” Today, they demand it!

Put bluntly, if you don’t accept insurance you will lose many clients to the acupuncturist down the street (or sometimes in the same building!) who does.

While the credentialing process for acupuncturists is necessary, it’s not easy. You might be reading this because you’ve already experienced the amount of time and hassle the credentialing process can take. From filling out 50-page applications, to following up with insurance companies, getting on just one insurance panel can take 90-120 days, and well over 10 hours of paperwork and follow-up. This is a huge distraction from your passion and focus of serving your clients and patients.

A Credentialing Team Can Help!

A credentialing team’s role is to make getting on insurance panels easy. While you focus on your practice, your credentialing team’s focus is on helping you to get credentialed with the best insurance companies in your area. That’s right: you can step aside, and a team will take the wheel. They want to take away those headaches and all of that stress that comes with the credentialing process.

If you’re looking for medical billing or credentialing help, consider East Meadow Management Group. They’re available to offer a timely quote, or help you find a solution. You can reach them at  516-277-8291 or by filling out this quick and easy form here.