Medical Billing An Important Part of MOA

The duties of a Medical Office Administrator today are as varied as they are challenging and rewarding.

A Medical Office Administration (MOA) graduate today focuses not only on making appointments and being the smiling face you meet upon entering an office. He or she performs as a multitasking medical professional capable of performing numerous and various tasks required in a successful practitioner's medical business.

Medical billing and coding important for a medical office administrator

One of those tasks that are becoming more and more vital to the very existence of a medical office is medical billing and coding of medical billing. Constantly more complex insurance laws and policies have forced the medical billing and coding duties to become an exact science. That's why any worthy and accredited Medical Office Administrator program, such as the one we have at Concorde, has a strong medical billing component built into the curriculum.

"Any good Medical Office Administrator today... must have medical billing and coding knowledge to pre-approve necessary procedures, to show medical necessity appropriately when insurance is initially billed," said Michael Meyer, DO, CCS, CPC-I, Program Director Medical Assistants and Medical Office Administration at Concorde's campus in Orlando, Fla. "They need to know ICD-10-CM and CPT-4 coding using claim tracing. They must post payments properly and collect not only the copayment at the time of the visit, but let the patient know their financial responsibility."

Meyer said it's all part of the complicated medical billing cycle and is taught as a part of the Medical Office Administrative curriculum.

Information very important to a patient

"This cycle is not only important to the physician or clinic owner, but also to the patient," Meyer said. "Knowing the cost of your medical care early prepares you for future billing and can make a big difference to the patient and his or her family."

It's especially important to give patients all the information they need, Meyer said, because of vast differences in policies, co-payments, and deductibles.

"Deductibles are tricky, knowing information on your insurance card," he said. "What you co-payment and deductible are (the part of your charges that are your responsibility to pay prior to insurance paying its part). With policies that have up to $10,000 deductibles, the consumer needs to know, and having assistance with this knowledge is key."