By Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan
Danielle Taimuty, CEO and President of Medical Billing Solution Services, Inc. (MBSS), has a knack for building loyal relationships. This knack has helped her grow MBSS from a small consulting service run out of her home to a national business that benefits her clients and her community.
“MBSS got started by accident,” Taimuty laughed. “I have a clinical background but started working for an insurance company. I was married and then we had a son and I wanted to stay at home. For a financial boost, I did some consulting for a practice to help with their billing. They were my first client and are still my client today.”
Taimuty is originally from Pittsburgh and lives in her hometown of McMurray but the business is in now based in Canonsburg near Southpointe. Word of mouth, passed from one satisfied customer to the next, at first caused Taimuty some consternation.
“When I initially took on this first client, I was immediately referred to another client and I was completely overwhelmed,” she recalled.
But now the business thrives from the consistently positive client recommendations.
“9 out of 10 times our out-of-state clients are referred by an existing client. We live for those referrals. Other than my children, there’s nothing that makes me happier than that,” Taimuty explained. “I always try to stay in personal contact with all of my providers, even though we are growing. That way if there is a problem we can address it and give them a resolution quickly.”
MBSS started with small practices but now serves larger groups too. The largest practice, including 27 primary care physicians, is based in Chicago. MBSS also serves urgent care, podiatry, surgery, and physical therapy among other specialities.
Taimuty originally hoped to be a physician herself but after a first-hand experience at Mercy Hospital, she took a different approach.
“I decided I wanted to help physicians. The idea that all physicians are very wealthy and work 8-4 was squashed for me. Great providers work so hard to take care of us and somebody has to take care of them.”
Billing is the core of MBSS but it also offers electronic medial records, practice management, credentialing, helps providers with meaningful use and attestation. MBSS also provides support and training on all products and sends staff to practice locations. In addition, MBSS helps providers connect with attorneys and helps them determine realistic expectations of revenue.
Taimuty could identify so many things from the insurance standpoint that providers weren’t billing where they could be.
“We had one client that was a group practice but the husband and wife got a divorce. She didn’t get anything, so we set her up with her billing, set her up with EMR, and quadrupled her income from the time she was in a group practice,” Taimuty said. “We helped her through a tough time. We taught her how to bill—she just didn’t know. We find that a lot.”
MBSS doesn’t always take over the billing for providers.
“I want what’s in their best interest because that’s in my best interest,” Taimuty explained. “If I go into their office and they have a great staff, I will tell them they don’t need to outsource. We want them to find solutions that meet their needs and in their best interest.”
But that situation doesn’t happen often.
“Most of the time, the best physicians are not business people,” explained Taimuty. “They really want to help people and treat the patients, but they put the business needs on the back burner. In today’s industry, business can’t be. Their profit margins have decreased so much. Physicians need a business sense or surround themselves with someone who can make sure they are billing correctly while following guidelines and regulations.”
Taimuty felt governmental changes are the biggest challenges that providers face right now.
“We’re going through a paradigm shift,” she said. “The smaller providers have really struggled to implement the changes and it’s difficult being the bearer of bad news when we have to explain the changes and the often negative effects. Also, I hate to see a really good provider decide to retire because they can’t take the logistics any more.”
Despite these obstacles, Taimuty sees a light at the end of the tunnel.
“I’d like to see providers get over the hump of adopting the technical aspect of medicine. It will get better!” she said. “Look at banking now—that will be healthcare in the future. They will be able to access the information they need to provide better care and carriers are going to pay providers for healthier populations. Our great providers will get paid what they deserve.”
Taimuty’s combined clinical and insurance background gave her the perfect foundation to begin MBSS but she gives most of the credit to her team.
“I’m very aware that I am where I am today because of the people around me,” Taimuty stressed. “I have a fantastic team that has helped this company grow and continues to help it grow. Many years we put the brakes on and worked on a solid foundation.”
She explained that customer service and a respect of the family are two core values.
“My team is like family, I have so many people who’ve worked with me for so many years,” she said. “Customer service is what sets us apart. Customer service is our number one concern. We don’t outsource anything. Most of our employees come to the office everyday, but all 47 of our employees are women right now and a lot of us are mothers. If their children are sick, we have allowed them to work from home. Our IT department has set everything up securely and we are compliant with HIPAA and HPI. We are also compassionate. We understand that family comes first and wouldn’t want it any other way.”
For more information, visit www.mbssi.net.
Throughout the year, our writers feature fresh, in-depth, and relevant information for our audience of 40,000+ healthcare leaders and professionals. As a healthcare business publication, we cover and cherish our relationship with the entire health care industry including administrators, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and more. We cover a broad spectrum from hospitals to medical offices to outpatient services to eye surgery centers to university settings. We focus on rehabilitation, nursing homes, home care, hospice as well as men’s health, women’s heath, and pediatrics.
