What’s that, you say? Medical practice accounting?
Is that somehow more difficult, or more complex than other more “typical” accounting support?
Quick answer: yes.
It may be argued, convincingly, that all businesses that make any amount of real money are under some level of scrutiny from the government.
Because of our friends at the IRS, in case you were wondering.
(And I use the term “friends” loosely. Of course).
When we start exploring the wonderful world of medical compliance accounting, to be sure, the complexities mount without any effort.
The first thing that springs to mind is the infuriating obfuscation of the health insurance industry.
That alone is enough to ruin an otherwise perfectly good day for millions of people across our great land.
With every patient, it can seem, you have a whole set of benefits coordination before you get to the magical nirvana of paid-in-full.
Are there secondary, or even tertiary insurances? If yes, who pays first?
Do you bill the insurance, or the patient? And, speaking of the patient…what about soft collections when all benefits have paid?
We’re not just talking services, either. Durable medical equipment (DME) has its own set of insurance headaches.
Not to mention the consumable supplies and treatments, staffing, continuing education, leasehold expenses so you have a place to practice.
Can you reasonably expect to find the kind of business financial and accounting support you need with a Google search on your own?
Shifting Gears: The Move to Medical Accounting
Our firm has enjoyed providing high-level advice as well as books and taxes to the real estate investment entrepreneur for some time.
This is never going to be something that is just going away for good. For one thing, I believe that real property is one of the best investments you can make, if you have the capital and the nerve for it.
Over time, the probability of appreciation is high. Coupled with a number of unique tax advantages it remains an area of keen interest for me, and for the firm.
We are able to demonstrate over time that we have the ability to save entrepreneurs thousands of dollars every year they remain in business in excess self-employment tax, and there are specific steps that cross over from real estate investing to medical providers who have in common the necessity for filing tax returns at the personal level.
In other words, pretty much anyone with a pulse that makes over $400 a year.
In fact, a lot of real property profit is shielded from the dreaded excess tax if it falls under the passive income category. Of course, we save people that buy, renovate, and re-sell homes that money.
We are declaring a move, not so much away from property investors, particularly those whom we are already grateful to be working with, as toward a new opportunity in our own practice.
A pivot, if you will.
If you pivot on the ball court you don’t have to even dribble the ball, and you remain aware of what remains behind you.
That’s the idea.
This pivot toward the medical profession and its unique needs stems simply from the fact that we are already working with several medical providers at the CFO level.
It also comes from years of prior mutual experience.
We have worked in home and hospice care support, emergency care, and client claims services in the past, as well as experience with medical billing.
One day it dawned on me that with this history, and the current direction of our firm toward a more comprehensive client advisory service, we have a lot to offer medical groups and practices.
It has also been clear to both of us for quite some time that medical professionals spend many years honing their craft, and the rest of their professional lives improving upon that.
We feel we can be of the greatest service to those we admire and respect in this capacity by ensuring they are making the most of their billings.
Expenditure management resulting in greater profit, cash flow management resulting in the freedom to grow in whatever way necessary.
And of course, my all-time favorite thing: keep every single dollar possible out of the greedy and irresponsible hands of the government.
I love my country, but I have no illusions about the federal discretionary budget.
I, and our doctor friends, have better uses for it, thank you very much.
These are the things you should be able to reasonably expect from any decent CPA.
It doesn’t always happen that way, but it should. But…there’s even more to this.
Peeling Back the Onion
What about billing optimization? I touched briefly on the fetid swamp of health insurance coordination earlier, but what if your comprehensive advisor worked with you proactively to streamline this process through continuous evaluation and process improvement?
Claims management. Can you truly say your claims are getting the attention they need when they are in any status other than paid-in-full (PIF)?
Due diligence. You, like us, are regulated by the federal government. Medical has HIPAA to live with (and that’s not just patient privacy, by the way), and we have Gramm-Leach-Bliley.
In both cases, the unsuspecting American public has a right to privacy of their information and protection from unscrupulous practitioners, and remaining in compliance for even the best of them requires constant, at least annual, vigilance.
Cash flow and capital management: if you’ve ever needed an expensive piece of diagnostic equipment, and had to spend time figuring out how to fund it, you can appreciate how much help it would be to have forward-looking metrics and budgeting guidance for the peace of mind of knowing you can run your practice the way you want to.
What about workforce and benefits analysis? We have experience with the dichotomy of needing the appearance of offering an excellent place to work and serve others with the need to keep some sort of a grip on payroll and contractor overheads.
What You Can Do About It
With years of experience and shared frustrations in medical support industries we choose, starting now, to do nothing less than bring a holistic approach to all of the pieces on the board in the financial life of a medical practice.
We will do this with forward-looking guidance, high-level metrics that provide a clear picture of multiple micro-forecast scenarios, and put as much medical practice time as possible back in the hands of those who need it most.
With our comprehensive client advisory accounting services, we will offer medical provider groups a non-equity partner that can navigate the complex financial and regulatory landscape of the healthcare industry.
By aligning the group’s operations with its financial strategies, we will ensure that your practice remains profitable, compliant, and positioned for future growth.
We are taking two new clients in the month of October at this level of service. This can be the month you remember in the future as the point your practice empowered itself with the financial weapons necessary to move up to the next level.
If this sounds right for you, reach out now with a DM through the social media you are reading this on, or just click here and book a Work With Me conversation now.
Your new era of effective medical practice accounting is available to you, now.