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As some of you know, I have a second health care site called Medical Billing Answers. It was set up to give basic information on things that have to do with medical billing and the revenue cycle process.

When I first set it up, I began a process where I would allow people to send me questions and I’d answer them for free. Every person got to ask one question for free, and then I’d tell them they had to pay for extra questions. This got confusing for a lot of people, even though it was written on the main page, and it caused some embarrassing situations.

Also, what started happening is I started getting questions to come pretty complicated stuff that I’d have to go and do some research on. In other instances, I’d know the answer, but the person would say they had to have “written” proof that my response was correct. That also meant research time.

I decided it was time to start charging for questions. So, I set it up on that site that every question I was asked had a minimal fee, to be paid by credit card through Paypal.

At the same time, I always had something that said that people could sign up for a month’s worth of consulting advice on medical billing and revenue cycle questions, and that fee was fairly low also. That’s because when I created the site, I really thought I’d be getting questions mostly from people who were having problems with their medical bills, not necessarily people employed in the business.

Because of that, I’ve raised the fee on the consulting also. I don’t think either the individual question fee or the monthly consulting fee is all that high; it’s $4.50 for each question, or $300 for a month. I put that on its own consulting page on the site so it’s easy to find, and I talked about it on the main page of the site. It’s all email consulting, though I might entertain instant messaging here and there. But no phone, and definitely nothing in person at these rates.

Then I started thinking about it some more. Why not offer the same thing through my main website? After all, I’m just as apt to receive inquiries on that site from hospitals and physicians offices on medical billing questions and revenue cycle questions there are on my MBA site; even more many times. So, I created a special consulting page on my main website that describes the same services, at the same price.

Now, for those folks who think $300 a month is kind of pricey, let me explain here, which I won’t do on the website. Regular consulting services can go as high as $100 an hour. I charge more than that for charge capture and charge master work. For other consulting work, I work with the potential client based on where they are, the size of their hospital, and the scope of the project. So yes, my hourly rate could be lower. Still, when one has to weigh $300 a month as opposed to at least $2,500 a week, where’s the real comparison?

This new consulting option offers something smaller hospitals haven’t been able to afford before; a way to get questions answered without spending lots of money. And it works well for me because, through email, I can be anywhere. I guarantee answers within 48 hours, which includes weekends, and that’s a plus. Also, no one else is doing it, at least not right now. So, at this point, I’ve cornered the market, although I know if it turns into a successful idea someone else is going to jump on the bandwagon. In that case, I’ll also have to be the best, which I like to think I am already. :-)

So, help me spread the word. And if you think this might be an option you or your hospital can afford, by all means, sign up and let’s do this thing. Check out the links to those pages above.