For wellness practices that accept insurance, staying on top of insurance claims and reimbursements is critical for the financial stability of your practice. Delayed claims can disrupt cash flow, while denials can lead to lost revenue.

Many wellness professionals choose to manage their own claims processing, making it essential to follow best practices for tracking and reconciling claims.

In this article, we cover the key steps to efficiently submit, track, and follow up on insurance claims. By implementing these strategies, you can save time, reduce errors, and increase reimbursements. 

10 steps to successfully track and manage insurance claims

Effectively managing insurance claims can be done by following a structured approach. The following 10 steps will guide you through the process of submitting, tracking, and reconciling claims, helping you save time, reduce errors, and increase reimbursements. 

1. Submit claims electronically for faster processing

Still filing paper CMS 1500 claims? Having to manually track paper claims, and manage resubmitting denied claims can add several weeks to your accounts payable cycle. Switching to electronic filing can significantly speed up reimbursements. 

Electronic claims:

✅ Create an instant digital record of submission
✅ Allow real-time status updates
✅ Reduce errors and rejections compared to manual submissions

Simply making the switch to electronic filing will immediately make managing insurance claims quicker, easier, and more efficient.

2. Use a clearinghouse for centralized claim management

A clearinghouse acts as a digital hub, allowing you to send claims to multiple insurance payers from one portal. 

Benefits of using a clearinghouse include:

✔️ Faster claims processing with built-in error checking (claim scrubbing)
✔️ Secure HIPAA-compliant submission of patient data
✔️ One dashboard to monitor all claim statuses

Managing claims across multiple insurance payers can be time-consuming, especially when using different payment portals. You must sign in to each portal separately to review claims, then manually match reimbursements with your banking data. A clearinghouse simplifies this process by allowing you to submit claims to multiple payers through a single portal, providing a clear overview of all submissions. For even greater efficiency, choosing a clearinghouse that integrates with your EHR/practice management platform lets you track claims directly within your system.

3. Enroll in Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for faster payments

Waiting for checks in the mail? Enroll in EFT to receive reimbursements directly in your bank account. 

EFT benefits include:

💰 Faster deposit times
📊 Easy tracking—match EFTs with your Explanation of Benefits (EOB)
📑 Reduced risk of lost or stolen checks

Usually the payer portal or clearinghouse will have directions on how to enroll in EFTs. 

4. Set a recurring time slot for claims management

Juggling client care and admin work? Balancing the roles of a dedicated clinician and a business owner requires shifting focus between two distinct responsibilities. 

It is helpful to block off time weekly or bi-weekly to:

🗂 Submit pending claims
📌 Review denied claims and resubmit
💳 Reconcile reimbursements and client balances

Time-blocking is a widely used time management technique among clinicians who also handle business tasks. By setting dedicated time slots for administrative work, such as claims management, clinicians can maintain better focus during client sessions while ensuring essential business tasks don’t pile up or get overlooked. 

5. Reconcile financial reports monthly to avoid revenue leakage

At the end of the month, reconcile submitted claims with received payments to ensure all reimbursements are accounted for. 

Common mistakes to look for: 

🚩 Underpaid claims
🚩 Denied claims that need resubmission
🚩 Uncollected client responsibilities

Here’s a checklist you can run through to ensure all billing admin work has been completed: 

• Have all CMS 1500 claim forms for every client session been created?
• Have all created CMS 1500 claim forms been submitted?
• Are there any claims forms that have been denied, and need to be resubmitted?
• Are there any claims forms that have been processed? Are there any client-owed responsibilities to collect?
• Do all of the reimbursement details match payments I’ve received?
• Are there any outstanding invoices for clients to collect on?

One alternative to self-managing claims is to hire an office manager or biller to manage billing work for you. For many wellness professionals, outsourcing this admin work allows them to focus on revenue-generating services such as client sessions.

6. Automate claim follow-ups to reduce denials

Denied claims can cost your practice thousands in lost revenue. 

Tips to avoid denials:

🔁 Setting up auto-reminders to follow up on unpaid claims
📩 Using software that flags rejected claims for quick correction
📞 Contacting insurance payers proactively for claim issues

Healthie automates claim tracking, helping you stay on top of rejections and resubmissions.

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7. Store all payer details in one system

Each insurance payer has its own claim submission rules. Documenting and organizing this information saves time by eliminating the need to relearn the process each time you file a claim.

Keep a centralized database of:

📌 Payer contact details
📑 Commonly required claim attachments
📝 Appeal processes for denied claims

A practice management platform like Healthie keeps all payer information organized for quick reference. 

8. Train your team to prevent costly claim errors

Billing mistakes are common and lead to claim denials. 

If you have staff handling claims, ensure they:

✔️ Double-check patient insurance details before submitting
✔️ Use correct diagnosis and procedure codes
✔️ Know payer-specific claim requirements

Regular team training helps prevent errors and keeps your billing process efficient.

9. Offer insurance verification before client appointments

Reduce surprise claim denials by verifying patient insurance details in advance of the appointment. 

Pre-appointment verification:

🔍 Confirms active coverage
💰 Ensures correct co-pay and deductible information
📋 Reduces unpaid balances after services are rendered

10. Use reporting tools to identify billing trends

Tracking claim trends helps you recognize bottlenecks and optimize your revenue cycle. 

Key metrics to analyze:

📊 Denial rates per payer
📆 Average time to reimbursement
💸 Claims that require frequent follow-up

Healthie provides robust billing reports, making it easy to monitor your practice’s financial health and make improvements. 

Start streamlining your claims process

A practice management platform like Healthie enables seamless electronic claim submissions and status tracking. Tracking insurance claims efficiently leads to fewer denials, faster reimbursements, and improved cash flow. Healthie simplifies claims management with built-in electronic billing, real-time status tracking, and financial reporting.