Medical Billing Companies & Consultants in Fairmont, WV

AMBS, Inc., known publicly as AMBS Medical Billing, is a family-owned company that handles billing and reimbursement for independent healthcare practices. Founded in 1988, it positions itself as a dependable, affordable billing department that a practice can rely on instead of building one internally.

The firm says its team works only on billing, accounts receivable management and cash flow, and that it follows the constantly shifting rules of health insurance. It describes itself as locally operated in the USA and says it supports practices in many states.

Background and Leadership

The company was started by Bryan Towns, who serves as founder and owner. He earned a business administration degree from West Virginia University in addition to an engineering degree.

His career includes co-founding a multi-discipline practice that served underserved communities in north central West Virginia, and he later launched a collections business for healthcare and a research organization focused on clinical studies. The company notes that he holds a long-standing membership with a national healthcare executives association and sits on the boards of several healthcare organizations and civic groups.

Day-to-day leadership includes Lisa Nestor as Chief Operating Officer, Amy Bogart as Credentialing and Information Director, and Crytal Collett as Billing Director. AMBS says it has guided hundreds of new practices and considers itself a specialist in start-up support.

Services

AMBS organizes its work into four areas: revenue cycle management, credentialing, accounts receivable recovery, and new practice services. The revenue cycle offering covers the path from scheduling through final payment. Among the items the company lists are:

• Daily claim filing, with claims processed within 24 hours
• Denial management, prompt re-filing and appeals
• Assertive follow-up with insurers and claim tracking
• Secondary and tertiary claim handling
• Enrollment with insurers and government programs
• Guidance on CPT and ICD coding
• Assumption and recovery of older receivables
• Electronic patient statements, a portal and credit card processing
• Authorization tracking, fee monitoring and quality control audits
• Bad debt and collection management

How the Firm Works With Clients

Moving to AMBS carries no start-up cost, and the firm is paid through a percentage of collections. In its words, it earns income when the practice does. Each client is assigned a billing team based in the USA, and the company says patient and insurer questions are handled directly by its staff. Clients receive online reporting, help with electronic remittance and funds transfer setup, and tools for charge capture and scheduling.

The company argues that practices benefit from not having to manage billing staff turnover, training, absences or billing software upgrades. It also contends that technology alone cannot replace experienced people who oversee reimbursement from start to finish, and it presents this hands-on style as its main distinction from software-driven vendors.

Specialties and Client Feedback

AMBS says it serves nearly every medical discipline. Its list includes primary care, pediatrics, geriatrics, surgery, anesthesiology, dermatology, allergy, podiatry, chiropractic, audiology and infectious disease. It also names mental health, addiction recovery, peer counseling, physical, occupational and speech therapy, urgent care, pain clinics, wound care, labs, hospitalists, in-home health providers and health departments.

Testimonials on its site come from office managers and physicians. One manager describes the firm as a back-office team over 15 years, a physician reports using it for 25 years, and another manager says it took over a large radiology practice smoothly.