What sets you apart from other companies offering this service?  What makes you different?  Knowledge!  Staying on top of industry changes, understanding what it takes to create consistent and maximum revenue, as well as a strong commitment to ongoing education within an ever-changing insurance industry.  You must be prepared to learn every day!  You must be committed to ongoing changes, education and compliance!

Consider this:  Perhaps you have already purchased your software and supplies.  You sent out your marketing material.  After a reasonable amount of time and effort, you still get no response.  You need to re-evaluate your marketing methods.  Your marketing material should reflect not only your professionalism, but your expertise.  Would you hire someone to do your taxes who just ran out and bought a tax accounting software, but neglected to educate himself or stay up to date on current tax laws?  Of course not!  If you are going to offer a service to a professional, then you must be a professional!  Purchasing a medical billing software does not make you a medical biller, just as purchasing a tax software does not make you an accountant.

We told you that we wouldn't fluff up this business and we meant it! 


Once you decide that you want to pursue a career in medical billing, let's look at the first seven steps for building the foundation and paving the way ...

1.  UNDERSTAND THE INDUSTRY!

2.  Subscribe to PMRNC TODAY!

Our resources are built upon years of experience in cooperation with other professional billing services and vendors.  We took all the hard knocks when starting our billing companies and now we are here to help you avoid potentially devastating pitfalls.  We stay on top of the industry and make it accessible to you in ONE place!  Our Learning Center and Getting Started pages are just the beginning!  Once you are established, you'll still find yourself coming back for more!  We offer discounts to subscribers on such things as mailing lists, clearinghouse fees, professionally designed marketing material, web design, hosting and even claim forms and envelopes.  Become part of an incredible network of people just like you and those who have been around awhile.  Continue chatting with the many new friends you will make.  Our site is not just a website, we are a community of professionals sharing our knowledge and guiding each other through the trials and tribulations this industry presents!  We have made valuable contacts and networking buddies through the years and we feel that's such an incredible source of support!

3.  Get on your local Medicare's mailing list for seminars and newsletters.  Go to all the seminars your carriers give in your area.  Do the same for Medicaid and Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

4.  Research the zoning laws regarding starting a home-based business.  You would be surprised to know that many municipalities do not allow home-based businesses to operate from a residentially zoned neighborhood.

5.  Research business names.  Visit your local township or municipality to find out the process in researching trade names.

6.  When you look for educational resources and software/training, look for a company who has been in business longer than 10 years, check their BBB report, the FTC and yours and their State Attorney General's office, to find out if it is a company you DO NOT want to do business with!  You must be prepared for start-up costs realistically being $3,000 to $5,000 total.  Many people start out slowly and build their business one step at time, so that the costs are not all consuming.  We know many billers who have signed on with Temp Agencies and some have taken part-time jobs at doctors office and insurance companies.  Not only does this help you obtain the funds for start-up, it's a great way to get hands-on experience and add to your resume! 

7.  If you decide to go for a home study program, make sure you ask for several references.  Ask about ongoing support for the program and ask when it was last updated.  Does it contain general coding issues?  Will it help you learn about the various types of managed care?  Will it help you in setting up your home office?  Will it teach you about HIPAA and touch on OIG compliance?  There are some good home study programs and there are some bad ones as well.  Make sure you research these just as thoroughly as you would your software and training. Ask the company to give you a list of references, network with other billers and speak with them about the courses they have taken.

8.  Network!  We can honestly say that if it were not for the support we have received from various networking groups, we would not be where we are today.  Networking is the key to building better business relationships, a way to share and gain valuable knowledge from others who have walked in the same shoes you are walking in.  We have a complete list of many medical billing networking groups, associations and discussion forums located on our site.  You can never have too many resources!