What is an 837 File?
Entering patient demographics, insurance information, and visit specific information is just one step in the claim reimbursement cycle. To get your client or doctor paid you can:
Send the claim via snail mail to the insurance company
Send the claim via snail mail to a clearinghouse
Electronically send the claim via a clearinghouse
The first two methods require the greatest amount of time to hear back from the insurance company who will either accept your claim and pay it or reject your claim due to a variety of reasons. The entire process could take many months sending letters, correcting errors, and rebilling the claim. This means a loss of revenue for your client or doctor.
Studies have shown that the longer a claim sits or takes a lengthy time to process, the less likely you will get paid by the insurance company and the patient. If you own your own medical billing business, this means that you are not doing your job for your clients. If you cannot get your clients claims paid, you will probably not be in business for long as your reputation will suffer.
To avoid the lengthy correspondence time, the electronic claim is your best option. This file is called the ANSI ASC X12 837 file format, or 837 for short. The 837 file takes what you complete in your medical billing software and interprets the information so that a clearinghouse can then transmit that information directly to the specified payer all in a standard format. The standard which was developed by ANSI or the American National Standards Institute, provides the same framework for data transmission for hundreds and sometimes thousands (depending on which state you live in) health insurance companies. The 837 file can be downloaded and sent to the insurance company electronically.
The WE Bill e-software service allows you to do this important function of the health care reimbursement cycle all in one easy step. Simply log in to the WE Bill e-software service, go to the menu, and click the download 837 file. From there you can view the number of claims you are downloading, the balances due, and the 837 file itself. WE Bill and Ask a Medical Biller.com provides everything you need to start and run your own medical billing business.
