Jul 08
adminComputers And Technology Bottom Line, Consequences, Costly Equipment
People can be strange creatures, regardless of how many times you warn them about a risk, they will still go their own way until it finally goes wrong! Only then do they realize what you’ve been cautioning them about.
One fine example of this, is making backups of your documents, e-mail, music, pictures and other files. I myself, someone who should know better, has made the mistake of underestimating the risks of not having a backup and losing critical data. One of my most important duties at my job, is guaranteeing the safety of the organisations data, by making daily backups and replicating data to other physical locations using costly equipment intended for this job.This process is safeguarded by procedures and automated to a level that human involvement isn’t always required.
In your private life or in small businesses the situation is different, you’re always in a hurry or busy working your small business and backups tend to be forgotten about. Particularly when you’re location independent and you work from anywhere, you’re not always up to date with your backups due to practical reasons.
This might have severe consequences for your organization. Imagine you had 20 clients last month, all with different purchases and you recorded all invoice data in your accounting software. Before you sent the invoices, you decide to go on a trip for a few days and when you come back, your computer is stolen or your accounting software database is virus ridden. If you can’t access your invoice data, can you recollect all specifics of the 20 customers and create new invoices? You can guess, but what happens if you think you worked 20 hours for the client, and they know that you merely worked 10? I don’t think that client is going to be rendering your services anymore. Bottom line: you will lose money! Either by losing customers or by working overtime to make up for the lost data.
Maybe you make use of hosted (accounting) software and depend upon your vendor to create backups! I like to recommend that you inquire if they have a service level agreement (SLA) for guaranteeing dependable backups that you can access at all times. Because what is the use of a backup if you can’t access and restore it when you want?
I’m sure everybody made this kind of mistake once or twice and misplaced an essential document and brought on a lot of stress:) Generally this is caused by too much optimism: “This won’t happen to me, I know what I’m doing, so I don’t need backups” or it is caused by a lack of knowledge or skills to make a backup. Primary reasons of data-loss:
Harddisk/hardware failure (Yes and this also occurs with new computers!) Accidentally overwritten a document (by older version) Accidentally deleted a file or folder AND emptied the Recycle Bin Laptop gets stolen Personal computer gets infected by a malware and an “IT uncle” gets rid of the infections as well as your data! Files get corrupted by a crashing computer program or operating system and so on
My advice is as follows:
For personal use I would suggest:
Backup your important files using an online backup service, like Sugarsync, Mozy or Dropbox If you have large amounts of data, buy an external USB drive or NAS that includes good backup software Schedule a backup daily or weekly otherwise steps 1 and 2 are almost useless.
For business use I would suggest to talk to a local IT shop for advice. The costs of a backup solution don’t compare to the costs of data loss!
Apr 15
adminBusiness Loan Boss, Bottom Line, Business Loans, Commercial Loan, Commercial Loans, Cousin, Experiences, Fee Agreement, Important Tools, Kindness, Loan Agreement, Loan Fee, National Lenders, Walk Across The Street, Ysp
If you’re in the business of originating commercial loans, you know how important it is to protect yourself. A commercial loan fee agreement is one of our most important tools. Going through the long and difficult process of underwriting and closing a commercial loan all to not get paid or only collect a portion of what you expected is one of the more painful and disappointing experiences you can go through in this industry.
We know. We have had several situations where we didn’t get paid, only got a portion of what we were told or did collect our fee, only after getting an attorney involved and going through a long and draining process.
Putting together a deal after hearing the funding bank saying something like “oh, we don’t have formal agreement with brokers, but we’ll pay you a point outside of closing” is like hoping to get paid back that $500 loan you gave to your high drop-out cousin. Sure, there is a chance you’ll get paid back.
Or if you’re working on a deal and not expecting to get any YSP from the bank and you’re depending on the borrower to finally sign that fee agreement, after they know who the bank is and what they are offering, is also a seriously weak position to be.
Unfortunately, we have had both “friends” as well as national lenders that we have work with for years short us at the end of the day. The reasons and stories behind these vary, but bottom-line – if you don’t have your agreement signed and in hand in the beginning of the process you are relying on their kindness to pay you. As my old boss used to say “I won’t walk across the street for a client without a contract”.
Jun 04
adminStudent Loan Bottom Line, Collection Efforts, Default Status, Default Student Loans, Department Of Education, Dirty Work, Interest Rate, Irs, Late Fees, Letter Stating That, Loan Lender, Money, Ninety Days, Partial Payments, Paycheck, Repercussions, Student Loan Manager, Wages
You can be considered in default of your student loans after one or two missed payments. Even if you make partial payments your account can go into a default status. This is not a bill that you can ignore without serious repercussions. You may think that you are just racking up a few late fees, but you could not be more wrong.
You will be charged late fees, of course, but what you may not realize is that these late fees can amount to more than you originally borrowed. There is no cap on how high your late fees can go. Collection efforts also come with a charge. The Department of Education has to hire a collection agency to do their dirty work and you get charged for it.
Your interest rate can jump up astronomically every month that you do not pay. This can also quickly raise your balance to way more than you ever thought possible. The Department of Education has the power to get their money by any means possible. Therefore, this huge number on paper will eventually come out of your pocket.
The IRS can send any refunds due to you directly to the student loan manager. This is usually their first line of defense when it comes to getting their money. They usually go to the IRS after ninety days of no payments, so it does not take long. Instead of getting your refund, you may get a letter stating that it has been sent to your student loan lender instead. If this amount does not cover the amount that you owe, then the next step is taken.
Your wages can be garnished and the amount you owe will start coming out of your paycheck. This can be devastating for most families and if you thought you were having trouble paying your bills before, try having your paycheck taken.
If that is still not enough, then they can sue you for the money that you owe. If you receive any kind of federal benefits, then they can intercept those as well. The bottom line is that you can not get away with not paying your student loans off.
If you are in default, call your loan manager and figure out the best steps to take. There are options like deferment, forbearance, and loan cancellation. Sometimes bankruptcy can dismiss student loans, but not always. The best thing to do is to lay out all of your options and come up with a solution. Some loans have income based payments that are adjustable depending on how much money you make. There are options out there for you, but you do have to ask. Paying off your student loans can be within your reach if you try.
Apr 19
adminInsurance Services Bottom Line, Collection Insurance, Correct Patient, Eligibility, Eligibility Verification, Health Insurance, Healthcare Practices, Healthcare Providers, Insurance, Insurance Carrier, Insurance Companies, Insurance Company, Insurance Eligibility, Insurance Verification, Maximum Benefit, Medical Billing, Outsourcing Company, Patient Dissatisfaction, Patient Eligibility, Patient Information, Rejection, Services, Verification, Verification Services
Insurance eligibility verification services are an essential part of the medical billing process. The process involves checking a patient’s active coverage with the insurance company and verifying whether he/she is eligible for the procedure which is scheduled in the hospital. Health insurance verification is not difficult but it is a time consuming process that requires attention to detail. With their busy working schedules, most healthcare providers do not get the time to carry out the verification process properly. Outsourcing insurance eligibility verification services to a reliable outsourcing company is the best alternative.
Insurance Verification – An Effective Way to Maximize Collection
Insurance companies sometimes make policy changes and updates in their health plans. This makes it necessary for the provider to check if the patient is covered under the new plan to ensure maximum benefit.
The verification process should be done before the patient is admitted to hospital. By ensuring that patients are eligible for services and benefits before treatment is rendered avoids the risk of not getting paid.
Billing the wrong insurance carrier or not having correct patient information are issues that could result in claim rejection, which ultimately affects your bottom line. There can be many reasons for this. First, the patient may supply the wrong or outdated information. Another reason could be because his or her policy has been terminated or modified. Lack of proper eligibility often lead to problems such as:
• Delayed payments
• Increased errors
• Need for rework
• Nonpayment of claims
• Patient dissatisfaction
Therefore the process must be handled properly.
Established outsourcing firms help to maximize the collections of healthcare practices – both from patients and payers. Practices seeking the help of outsourcing firms do not have to be concerned about lost revenue due to delays or errors in patient eligibility verification. They see that all the procedures are completed on time and take care of the entire paperwork to ensure speedy reimbursement.
Benefits
The benefits of outsourcing your verification requirements are:
• Improved cash flow
• Reduced costs
• Increased efficiency
• Increased upfront collection
• Improve patient satisfaction
• Increased staff productivity
• Increased number of clean claims
• Reduced rejections and denials
Most of the outsourcing companies have the right combination of skilled professionals and advanced technology to manage all complicated medical billing follow-up functions. Billing companies have insurance verification specialists to take care of the necessary procedures and provide accurate information. These specialists possess:
• Knowledge of insurance, healthcare terminology, and medical/surgical techniques
• Excellent computer skills
• Call center/customer service experience
The verification process involves many steps. The details verified by the specialist during the eligibility verification process include:
• Payable benefits
• Co-pays
• Co-insurances
• Deductibles
• Patient policy status
• Effective date
• Type of plan and coverage details
• Plan exclusions
• Claims mailing address
• Referrals & pre-authorizations
• Life time maximum, and more
Process of Health Insurance Verification
Insurance eligibility verification services involve these steps.
• Receiving patient schedule from the hospital via EDI, email or fax
• Checking patient’s insurance coverage with primary and secondary payers
• Contacting patients for further information, if necessary
• Updating the billing system with eligibility and verification details such as, coverage end and start dates, member ID, group ID, co-pay information and much more.
To obtain the best level of insurance eligibility verification services, it is necessary to choose a reliable and experienced company. A comprehensive research could help you decide which outsourcing companies are most appropriate for your medical eligibility verification needs. It is also important to ensure that the company you choose is HIPAA compliant and has proper measures in place to ensure security and privacy.
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