What coupled to scheduling and financial reporting capabilities, medical billing software can help you optimize your practice revenue.
Additionally, this solution has been making management a lot easier for different practices in the country. While this is the case, you also need to note that medical billing software can cost you thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.
Again, you may have noticed that medical billing software prices vary widely, with some providers offering free online-based services. The free servicer provides will, most likely, for some advanced features, such as sending electronic claims.
The more expensive solutions are often expansive and all-inclusive practice management software solutions. Such solutions come complete with the full claim and electronic health records processing capabilities.
So, how much does medical billing software cost?
Average Medical Billing Software Cost – Industry Standard Rates
For the expansive, all-inclusive medical billing solutions, you should expect to spend about $50,000 or even more, depending on the included capabilities. If you opt for the hosted solutions that are offered in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, you will be expected to pay monthly subscription fees, ranging from $30 to $95/month.
If you opt for on-site medical billing software options, you will be required to pay a one-time licensing cost for the software. In most cases, the licensing fee for on-site solutions is about $8,000. However, the cost for on-site medical billing solutions is dependent on the size of your enterprise and whether or not you need o -site server(s).
Again, most of the leading medical billing software providers will charge you a percentage for each one of the claims you process with the software. This percentage will also affect the overall cost of medical billing software, as described below.
Factors Affecting the Cost of Medical Billing Software
On average medical billing software solutions are priced anywhere between $0 and $800 per provider per month. The pricing often depends on the software feature capabilities and the licensing model used by your preferred vendor. Whether you opt for on-site or hosted medical billing solution, you will invite hardware cots to implement it.
For instance, a computer server will cost you between $3,500 and $5,000 while on-site servers come at around $500 each. You should expect to spend about $50 to $250 for Ethernet switches and required cables. In addition to this, you also need to factor in software cost in order to figure out the overall cost of implementing medical billing software.
In this regard, here are some of the key factors that influence the cost of medical billing software:
Licensing Fee
While some vendors offer their medical billing software solutions for free, most of the leading providers will charge you a licensing fee. The amount you end up spending for software licensing will depend on many factors, such as the licensing fee model used by the provider and number of users.
On average, a medical billing software license will cost you between $1,500 and $3,500 per user. The basic version of the software, featuring basic capabilities, cones at a licensing fee of about $1,300. Such a program often comes with a single- user interface.
Should you decide to add a few add-ons for additional functionality and or users, you should be prepared to incur additional costs. In most cases, the basic version will come with such capabilities as claim sending, as well as patient and medical office management.
Model of Deployment
The price of medical billing software programs often depends on their deployment model. On-premise systems will require upfront costs for licenses, servers, and several other hardware components. This mode of deployment will also require you to spend a considerable amount of setup and training.
Buyers of the leading on-premise systems will also be required to pay ongoing maintenance and support fees. In most cases, these will constitute between 15 and 20 percent of the upfront medical billing software licensing costs.
Although this option is associated with higher costs, the advantage of the client-server configuration is that it allows many users to share the same database. The cost will vary depending on the number of users and included software features. On average, this type of insurance billing software can range in price from just under $1,000 to $10,000.
Hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) Pricing Model
No service provider is required and service is accessed through an online browser. It is also sometimes referred to as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), on-demand, cloud computing, Internet-based, and application service provider (ASP).
There are few minute differences, but all are part of this popular, lower-cost medical billing software option. On average, prices range between $25 and $100 per month. In addition to this, you may also be required to pay additional electronic claim fees.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications typically require lower upfront costs and ongoing monthly fees that cover licensing, support and upgrades. Finally, there are free medical billing software options that are supported by alternative revenue streams, including advertising.
Add-Ons and Upgrades
As mentioned above, the licensing fee is often for basic medical billing features and capabilities and will limit you to a single computer. Most of the leading providers will also allow you to expand the functionality of your software. However, these will come at additional costs.
For instance, some providers allow you to couple the billing software with such add-ons as scheduling capabilities. Again, the cost of add-ons and upgrades varies from one provider to another based on the capabilities it offers. For instance, basic add-ons with a single-user interface may be priced at $500.
Add-ons and medical billing software upgrades to support two-user interface capabilities are priced at about $1,100. The overall cost of the upgrades will also depend on the added features and capabilities. The more the add-ons you integrate with your billing software, the higher the cost will be.
Ready to Implement a Medical Billing Software?
Medical practices are now modernizing their medical insurance billing processes by implementing the right medical insurance billing software.
This solution has revolutionized the medical field yet again. It is essentially designed to offer functionality and intuitive options for managing important as well as time-sensitive information.
As you may be aware, this comes at a cost, which varies from one provider to another. With this guide, you should have an easy time finding a cost-efficient medical billing software solution.