How to Finance Your Medical Office
Sunday, July 20th, 2008The medical industry is growing by leaps and bounds no matter how many experts portray a gloom and doom on new businesses. Each year the demand for medical services and supplies keep getting higher. This trend will continue as the population grows.
The trend looks great, but running a medical related business keeps getting more challenging. Doctors and medical suppliers can expect to could expect to get large and quick reimbursements for their services in the past. Now, cash flow is reasonably easy to manage. Yet, Medicare, Medicaid and third party insurance companies have put into place strict compensation guide. Those guidelines summarize in two simple points that you can receive less money than before and you should be prepared to wait longer to get your money.
With the cost of medical diagnostic equipment and supplies rising and you are getting paid less and waiting longer your money this can cause a financial problem when starting out. For established clinics and medical offices operating expenses will remain the same or maybe a little higher. You will still need to pay your employees and suppliers and in most cases that will limit your ability to pursue new opportunities for growth. It could also threaten your ability to continue to operate your clinic or medical office.
Can you fix the cash flow problem? You could try a factoring your invoices to solve the problem of not being able to relate to 30-90 days for the insurance companies or Medicare to pay you. Factoring is very simple to it is a way of financing in which a factoring company provide you with advance payments based on your outstanding accounts receivable or invoices. You will get funding as soon as you invoice. You will get your money right away and the factoring company will wait until the insurance company or Medicare pays the invoices.
Factoring does have its advantages. Factoring finances do not have arbitrary limits. The monthly financing is solely determined by your ability to invoice. Also, factoring companies do not require the same collateral that a bank does. This allows new businesses or doctor’s offices to qualify easily. This means you will be able to purchase the new medical equipment that your clinical office needs.
How does it work? Well, the processes fairly simple. Once you have chosen a factoring company and established an agreement from it works as follows:
- 1. Your office submits your weekly, daily or monthly billings to the insurance company and to Medicare/Medicaid. The factoring company may be able to help you with this.
- 2. Your office sends a copy of the invoices to the factoring company.
- 3. The factoring company advances you up to 85% of Net Collectables within 48 hours. Funds are sent by wire or direct deposit to your bank. The remaining 15% is called a “reserve” and used to settle billing discrepancies at time of payment.
- 4. The factoring company waits to be paid by the insurance company or Medicare/Medicaid.
- 5. Once the factoring company is paid, they settle out the transaction and rebate you the remaining 15%, less their fee.
Factoring is ideally suited for medical offices and testing centers that are growing quickly and cannot afford to wait the usual 30-90 days that it takes to be paid by insurance companies or Medicare. It will provide you with ongoing financing, streamline your cash flow, and most of all, relieve the stress of not knowing when you will be paid.


