Primrose Vs Traditional Billing
Modern. Improved.
Elegant way of billing.
Are you relying on your colleagues and friends to tell you their favorite billing company? What if we were to lay out the facts so you can make the right decision for your practice?
Basic Billing functions
| AREA | TRADITIONAL BILLING COMPANY | PRIMROSE | ADVANTAGE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Office Claims |
Yes
Create claims following payer specifications.
|
Yes
Create claims following payer specifications.
|
Both |
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Filing |
Yes
File claims to insurance companies electronically or on paper.
|
Yes
File claims to insurance companies electronically or on paper.
|
Both |
|
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Remit Posting |
Yes
Post EOBs and ERAs from payers.
|
Yes
Post EOBs and ERAs from payers.
|
Both |
|
|
Unpaid claims |
Yes
Call or trace claims missing remits from insurance companies.
|
Yes
Call or trace claims missing remits from insurance companies.
|
Both |
|
|
Statements |
Yes
Patient statements are typically included at no additional cost.
|
Yes
Patient statements are typically included at no additional cost.
|
Both |
|
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Credentialing |
Maybe
Billing companies will do credentialing for a nominal cost. Check out actual fees
|
Maybe We absorb the cost of credentialing but it requires a 2-year commitment to spread our costs. |
Both |
|
|
Check depositing |
Maybe
Billing companies may deposit your checks. |
Yes
Primrose deposits checks saving you trips to your bank ¹ |
Both |
|
|
Patient calls |
Yes
Handle all incoming patient calls with questions on balance and take payments over the phone. |
Yes
Handle all incoming patient calls with questions on balance and take payments over the phone. |
Both |
|
|
Mail processing |
Yes
Billing companies typically receive and process all incoming mail, including EOBS.
|
Yes
We set up a dropbox to receive and process all incoming mail including EOBS. ¹ |
Both |
|
|
Startup fees |
Maybe
Some billing companies have set up fees. Find out ahead of time |
No
Primrose does not have startup fees. |
Primrose |
|
|
Lockin period |
Maybe
Billing companies typically require a 2-year commitment. |
No
Primrose does not require a commitment. Due to the additional effort involved with startup clinics, we do require a 2-year commitment if you want subsidized pricing. |
Primrose |
|
|
Appeals |
All-in-One
Billing companies typically assign one staff to a clinic and they may work appeals over time. |
Specialized Primrose has a dedicated AR team that specializes in its own domain and gains expertise in appeals. ¹ |
Primrose |
|
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Continuity |
Individual Billing companies typically assign an individual. When that staff leaves, practices are often left in a crisis. |
Teams
Primrose uses a team-based approach with cross-trained staff; if one staff leaves, it has no impact on the overall performance |
Primrose |
|
|
Revenue |
Limited-to-No impact
Follow basic billing and focus on collecting revenue on the easy claims. |
High impact
We have developed multiple strategies to maximize your revenue. ¹ |
Primrose |
|
|
Transparency |
Minimal
You may receive a printed monthly report with no visibility into your data. |
High
You get real-time access to view reports through Dashboard or mobile app |
Primrose |
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|
Scrubber Validation |
Basic
Billing companies lack the ability to update rules in their software. |
Yes
Primrose constantly updates our scrubber with new payor edits to reduce denials. |
Primrose |
|
|
Prior Auth |
No
Vendors do not support prior authorization. |
Yes
We get prior auth for tests, procedures and surgeries. Our staff takes up the workload ¹ |
Primrose |
|
|
Coding |
Maybe
Most do not have coders on staff leading to lost revenue. |
Yes
We have experienced specialty coders for all hospital procedures and surgeries. ¹ |
Primrose |
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Eliminate scans |
No
You or your staff will need to scan and email papers to billing companies |
Yes
You can scan and upload documents through our software |
Primrose |
|
|
Bank reconciliation |
No
Even a few missing checks could result in thousands of dollars in lost revenue |
Yes
We reconcile bank statements with our records and track any missing payments¹ |
Primrose |
|
|
Balance reminders |
No
Your staff will need to manually call patients to remind them of their balance. |
Yes
We can turn on balance reminder calls to remind your patients of their balance |
Primrose |
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Dunning letters |
No
Your staff will need to manually create and send out dunning letters if their balance is seriously past due. |
Yes
We can turn on the dunning sequence for patients whose balances are past due. |
Primrose |
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|
Facility facesheets |
No
You or your staff will need to print and mail them to the billing company. |
Yes
Our charge capture app allows you to take a picture of the facesheet and our team enters the data ¹ |
Primrose |
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¹ - feature is available only in our Premium & Enterprise plans. Click to view our plans |
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Core Software
| AREA | TRADITIONAL BILLING COMPANY | PRIMROSE | ADVANTAGE |
|---|---|---|---|
|
EMR |
Yes
You pick the EMR software of your choice. |
No
You pick the EMR software of your choice. |
EMR vendors |
|
Portal |
No
A traditional biller doesn’t have patient portal software and suggest you use outdated EMR portals. |
No
Your EMR vendor will provide a patient portal that ties into their EMR. We use other ways to SMS & calls to communicate with your patients.
|
Primrose |
|
Scheduler |
No
You would pick your own EMR scheduler software; but they lack features that practices need to succeed in the current digital environment. |
Yes
Primrose scheduler has a lot of patient collaboration built in to reduce your staffing costs. |
Primrose |
|
Billing |
No
Billing companies use off-the-shelf software products which lack revenue-maximizing features. |
Yes
Primrose perfected their billing software over the 15 years to maximize your revenue. Billing software is bundled into the billing service |
Primrose |
|
Dashboard |
No
Billing companies provide basic reporting and lack transparency. |
Yes
Our dashboard is built to get practice-wide metrics and help manage your practice. It has specific reports, graphs and views to understand how your services are performing. You can also easily export data for specific
analysis. |
Primrose |
|
Mobile app |
No
Billing companies do not offer an app. |
Yes
Our mobile app is fast and efficient. Reporting module allows providers to monitor their revenue. You can review any patient history using that module. Rounding module is built for facility-based providers to capture
charges. |
Primrose |
Previsit Services
| AREA | TRADITIONAL BILLING COMPANY | PRIMROSE | ADVANTAGE |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Reminders |
No
Scope of billing companies exclude pre-visit services |
Yes
Built-in feature; Default with all plans; no additional fee |
Primrose |
|
Eligibility |
Maybe
Scope of billing companies exclude pre-visit services |
Yes
Default in Premium & Enterprise plan at no additional fee |
Primrose |
|
Estimation |
No
Scope of billing companies exclude pre-visit services. Your frontdesk staff does not know or is reluctant to collect money upfront. Increased high deductible plans result in thousands of dollars being lost. |
Yes
We estimate what the patient will owe at the time of the visit giving the frontdesk staff the confidence to collect. Fees apply* |
Primrose |
|
Checkin |
No
Scope of billing companies exclude pre-visit services. |
Yes
Our check-in feature allows patients to check-in the day before, review insurance. This eliminates the check-in process at the office. |
Primrose |
|
Collect copays |
No
Scope of billing companies exclude pre-visit services. |
Yes
As a part of the check-in we collect copays and deductibles. Combining Estimation significantly
improves your upfront collection for tests and procedures. |
Primrose |
|
Self service |
Limited
Scope of billing companies exclude pre-visit & self-service options. |
Yes
Along with reminders, we also allow patients to manage their own appointments. |
|
|
Messaging |
Limited
Scope of billing companies exclude pre-visit & messaging services. |
SMS-based
Our system allows you to message patients, send documents & images securely |
Primrose |
|
Prior Auth |
No
Scope of billing companies exclude pre-visit services. |
Yes
We get prior authorization for tests, procedures and surgeries. Your savings will be
significant as our staff takes up the workload ¹y |
Primrose |
|
Reviews |
No
Scope of billing companies exclude pre-visit & review services. |
Yes
We remind patients to leave a reminder after their appointment to dramatically increase your
Google reviews |
Primrose |
Setup & Support Services
| AREA | TRADITIONAL BILLING COMPANY | PRIMROSE | ADVANTAGE |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Support |
Varies
Billing companies have different support models based on their size and business model. |
Account Management
We assign an account manager in our Premium & Enterprise plans who is knowledgeable about your account. We also have an Essentials plan with a regular customer service model to reduce costs for smaller practices.
|
Primrose |
|
Training |
No
Billing companies typically do not allow you to access their software and hence provide no training |
Yes
Primrose trains on our platform so that your is familiar with our practice management platform |
Both |
|
Implementation |
No
Transitioning billing can be tricky, and your experience will vary significantly based on the billing company |
Yes
Primrose has a proven implementation process, tracked over the first 6 months to ensure that there is no gap in revenue³ |
Traditional billing company |
|
EDI |
Yes
Billing company will set up electronic transactions with insurance companies |
Yes
Primrose sets up & manages all electronic transactions |
Traditional billing company |
|
Old AR |
Varies
Billing companies differ in their policy with Old A/R. Some will take on old A/R while many won't. Check with your billing company |
Yes
Our team loads and works unpaid insurance receivables. |
Primrose |
|
Remit Address |
No
Billing companies typically change the remit address so remits go to them. Check with your billing company. |
Yes
We change the remit address so that remits come to our processing location ¹ |
Primrose |
|
Turn around |
Fast resolution
You are assigned a biller and typically that staff can quickly resolve open issues |
Fast resolution
Primrose premium plans assign account managers that take cross-functional team support to resolve issues quickly |
Primrose |
|
Custom Reports |
No
Billing companies do not have the ability to generate custom reports |
Yes
Primrose allows you to export data easily from our practice management software. We support custom report generation with our premium plans. See details here. |
Primrose |
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¹ - feature is available only in our Premium & Enterprise plans. Click to view our plans |
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³ - Assumes that Primrose gets sufficient lead time to transition billing service |
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I used an inhouse biller the first year of my practice and then switched to a top EMR vendor for the next year. Both attempts failed and I have been using Primrose over the last 5 years and I couldn’t be happier with their solution. Recommended