Medical Billing in Salt Lake City

One system, one plan

Intermountain Health is the elephant in every Utah exam room. It runs many of the hospitals and has its own health plan, SelectHealth. University of Utah Health, with its medical school and the Huntsman Cancer Institute, is the second big institution, and Primary Children's Hospital is the pediatric anchor.

An independent practice in Salt Lake City is therefore in an unusual spot: you may send patients to a hospital owned by the same organization that runs a plan you bill. A company that has worked in Utah knows how that plan treats outside providers and where the friction usually is. One that has not will learn it on your claims.

Salt Lake City is also a place where people stay a long time with the same doctors. Patient loyalty is high, and so are patient expectations about billing. A confusing statement from your office can cost you a family of six. Ask each company to show you what its patient statements look like.

The Wasatch Front is also growing fast, and many practices are adding providers and second offices. Every new provider needs credentialing with every payer, and that takes weeks or months. Ask whether the company handles it and whether it is in the fee.

A young, large-family market

Utah skews young, and families run large. That leans the market toward pediatrics and obstetrics more than in most metros. It also changes billing, since a family of six on one plan means six well-child schedules and a deductible that fills fast.

Medicaid in Utah leans on managed care arrangements. A practice with Medicaid patients bills each plan under its own rules. Regence BlueCross BlueShield is the Blue plan in Utah, and plenty of commercial patients carry it. Medicare Advantage is smaller than in Florida but growing.

Pediatric and OB billing have their own quirks: global maternity packages and vaccine administration codes. A company that bills these every day will not stumble on them.

Murray, West Jordan, South Jordan and the valley

Medical offices are spread through the valley. Murray is home to a major Intermountain hospital campus and a cluster of specialists around it. Midvale and Millcreek sit on the east side with primary care and urgent care. West Valley City, Taylorsville and West Jordan have large family and pediatric offices. South Jordan and Cottonwood Heights have newer buildings for specialists, and Holladay and Bountiful serve older, established neighborhoods.

Because the work is done remotely, you pay no extra for any of these places. What matters is whether the billing company has worked your specialty with Utah payers.

Salt Lake City proper has a downtown cluster of medical offices near the University of Utah and a separate group around the Avenues. If you have a location in the city and another in a suburb like Murray or South Jordan, have the company split its reports by office.

Winter inversions put smog in the valley, and respiratory visits climb with them. Primary care and urgent care practices in Salt Lake City see seasonal spikes, so ask the company how its fees and staffing handle a busy month. Ski season adds its own work: Park City and the canyon resorts send injured visitors to urgent care and orthopedic offices, often with out of state coverage that follows the home plan's rules. Those claims arrive with unfamiliar cards and pay slowly, so February cash flow can look odd.

Why behavioral health billing is its own thing here

Salt Lake City has a lot of therapists and counselors. Their billing runs on time-based codes and session limits, with plan-specific authorizations on top. Credentialing with several payers at the same time takes patience. A company that does it well saves you months of lost income when you add a provider or open a second office.

If you run one of these, ask for specific experience. A firm that bills mostly medical practices may not know the rules.

What to ask each firm

Start with the exit. Who owns your data if you leave, and what does it look like when it comes back? How long does the company keep working open claims afterward?

Then software. Tell each firm what EHR you use and ask how it connects. If it does not work in your system every day, ask who builds the link.

Finally, ask how denials are worked: by whom, how often, and with what monthly report. Ask where the staff are located and which of them have HIPAA training.

Fees and what they cover

Some companies charge a share of what they collect. Others charge a flat fee per claim or per provider. A share gives the company a reason to chase money, but it grows as you do. A flat fee is steadier and can be higher in slow months.

Whichever you pick, read what the fee includes. Statements and credentialing should be listed, not implied. The cheapest quote on paper is often the one with the most extras.

Utah is a market where reputation travels. Ask for references from practices of your size and specialty, and call two of them before you decide.

Ask for a go-live date and what your office does until then. Also find out if the company has billed SelectHealth and Regence before, since those two plans have their own habits.

Medical Billing Cost Costs in Salt Lake City

The cost of a medical billing company in Salt Lake City is most affected by the volume of bills a practice needs to process and collect.

Below are estimated costs for medical billing company costs in Salt Lake City:

Note: Prices subject to change. These costs are based on an average of Alluvit's Salt Lake City medical billing company research.

Medical Billing Companies in Salt Lake City, UT

• Critique Inc

  
  
  

  PO Box 571123
  Salt Lake City, 84157-1123

  (801) 268-0492

• First Medical Advisory Group

  
  
  

  392 E Winchester St # 104
  Salt Lake City, 84107-8508

  (801) 904-3475

• Iron Mountain

  
  
  

  1110 S 3800 W # 300
  Salt Lake City, 84104-5509

  (801) 746-3583

• Iron Mountain

  
  
  

  1665 S 5350 W
  Salt Lake City, 84104-4721

  (801) 956-2034

• LDS Hospital Medical Records

  
  
  

  8th Ave & C St
  Salt Lake City, 84143-0001

  (801) 408-2030

• M D Diet Information Ctr

  
  
  

  3655 S State St
  Salt Lake City, 84115-4827

  (801) 293-3100

Looking for a different city? Here are some nearby.

Other Salt Lake City business topics.

• Benefits Of Outsourcing Medical Billing