Getting started

How starting works, including what can go wrong

No patient data moves until the Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is signed. You keep your EMR. We plan the handover before anything changes.

Two ways in

Pick the one that matches how your practice bills today. Both end with your first month-end report.

From in-house billing

  1. 01

    Sign the service agreement and the BAA

    No patient data moves before the BAA is signed.

  2. 02

    Set up access to your EMR and clearinghouse for your billing team

    You keep your EMR.

  3. 03

    Share your fee schedule and financial policy

  4. 04

    Name one contact at your front desk

  5. 05

    We list every open claim with an owner and a deadline.

  6. 06

    Your written billing plan says who works claims sent before your start date, and whether that work is priced separately.

  7. 07

    Your first month-end report

    What was billed and paid, and what we need from you.

Why cash can dip in any switch

These rules set the pace, whoever does the billing.

  • Earliest day Medicare can pay a clean electronic claim
    Day 14

    Source: CMS, Rev. 13826, 2026-06-112

  • Medicare's limit to pay or deny a clean claim
    30 days

    Source: CMS, Rev. 13826, 2026-06-112

  • Per insurance company at a time, for electronic remittances
    One clearinghouse

    Source: Stedi, 2026-06-241

  • Remittance enrollment times on 2021 clearinghouse forms: Medicare Part B through Novitas 5 to 10; WPS 10 to 14; Optum360 10 to 30
    5 to 30 business days

    Source: Office Ally, 2021-08-27; Office Ally, 2021-12-1434

  • We plan the handover around these, and tell you which insurance companies are still moving.

What we need from you

Before we start

  • A signed service agreement and BAA

    Before any patient data moves.

  • Access to your EMR and clearinghouse for your billing team

    You keep your EMR.

  • Your fee schedule and financial policy

    So charges, statements and payment plans follow your rules.

  • One contact at your front desk

    For coverage problems and questions only your practice can answer.

Your biller leaves next month?

Tell us the date. We will say honestly whether we can be ready, and what your front desk should keep doing until then.

If you leave

You keep your EMR and your records. At the end, the BAA requires us to return or destroy your patients' information and keep no copies.5

Questions about switching

No patient data moves until the Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is signed.

We list every open claim with an owner and a deadline. We agree a start date with you and plan who works claims for visits before and after it.

Your first month-end report follows.

Medicare cannot pay a clean electronic claim until 13 days after it receives it,2 and each insurance company sends electronic remittances to one clearinghouse at a time, so they move payer by payer.1

We plan the handover around both.

Tell us the date. We will say honestly whether we can be ready, and what your front desk should keep doing until then.

Your written billing plan says who works claims sent before your start date, and whether that work is priced separately.

Next question: what does it cost?

What the fee covers, and what one in-house biller costs.