Medical Billing Companies & Consultants in Chantilly, VA

NOVA Medical Billing, Inc. is a family-owned revenue cycle firm based in Chantilly, Virginia, a short drive from Centreville. It works mainly with independent physicians, including solo practitioners and small groups of roughly two to ten providers, that need an experienced, credentialed billing department but would rather not employ one in-house. The company has operated continuously for more than 28 years and states that in that time it has never been acquired, sold or merged.

Billing and Enrollment Services

The firm's work falls into two areas: claims-to-cash billing, and payer enrollment and credentialing. On the billing side it handles the full cycle from capturing charges through to reporting on results:

• Charge capture, plus review and scrubbing of claims before they go out
• Electronic claims submission
• Posting of insurance payments, denial management and first-level appeals
• Patient statements and posting of patient payments
• Monthly financial reports and analysis

Its enrollment team sets up provider records in NPPES/NPI, CAQH and Availity. It files and follows up on payer applications with Medicare through PECOS, state Medicaid fee-for-service and managed care plans, the Tricare regions and commercial insurers.

It also maintains credentialing over time, covering revalidations, CAQH attestations, provider rosters and updates when a practice adds a location, changes its bank account or changes its name or tax ID. Consulting work includes appeals to closed panels, setting up ERA and EFT enrollments and helping practices prepare for contract negotiations with payers.

Team and Credentials

Every NOVA biller must earn the AAPC Certified Professional Biller credential by the end of their first year on staff, and several employees hold additional coding and billing certifications. The company says its staff together hold more than 21 certifications from seven national healthcare associations, covering coding, auditing, compliance and practice management.

CEO John Uecke started in healthcare in 2000 as business manager at Healthcare Billing Center, Inc. and has about 26 years of revenue cycle experience. He holds sixteen credentials, including CPC, CPB, CPMA, CPPM and CPCO from the AAPC, the Certified Ophthalmic Executive designation, the Ophthalmic Coding Specialist credential and several compliance and auditing certifications.

He consults with healthcare law firms and speaks to professional associations around the country.

How They Work With Clients

Buyers comparing vendors may find NOVA's operating model notable. All billing is done in the United States, with no offshoring or subcontracting, and the company says it is not controlled by investors, software vendors or marketing firms. Clients can reach their assigned biller, the operations manager or the owner directly instead of going through a ticket queue.

NOVA reports an average first-pass clean claim rate of about 99 percent, which it credits for keeping insurance aging low. Pricing is fixed, with no setup fees, and contracts can be ended on 30, 60 or 90 days' notice, depending on the term the client chooses.