ERA Payment Posting

Let's review how to post ERA payments. You can watch a short video or read the article for further details.

ERA Filing Area

• Navigate to Filing > ERAs.
• You will see a list of your active ERAs within the default date range.
• The list will show you general information about the ERA such as the date of the ERA (Post Date), the payer, the invoice/check number of the ERA, the number of lines in the ERA, the number of lines that are still unapplied, and the total amount paid.
• You can filter your ERAs using parameters such as Invoice Date, Client Name, Payer, and Check Number.
  • You can also limit the display to only those ERAs that have been flagged by checking Show flagged only.
  • If you need to see an ERA that has been archived, you will need to check Show archived ERA's. 
  • The Auto-Save while posting feature saves the amounts entered after one minute of inactivity on the page. If you leave the page and go back to it later, the information that was previously entered will be saved.
• Important: You cannot reset the ERA to the default amounts that appeared when the ERA was received if amounts are changed once it has been saved.  
• Clicking the  icon will open up the ERA, displaying service line details, and giving you the ability to apply the payments and adjustments.
• Clicking the  icon will hide that ERA from the display by marking it as archived. The ERA is not deleted, only hidden.

ERA Layout

Note: Identifying information, such as client name, check number, and the payer claim reference number has been removed.

Let's review the top of the ERA screen.

1. The top left contains the payer's name.
2. On the right, you can view the check date, check number, and amount.
3. You also have the option to Edit the ERA Date or Check # if needed. 
4. There is also a Print link that allows you to print the ERA in 5 different formats, the most common being Remittance Advice. 

Let's review the options above the service lines. 

1. Detailed Instructions will take you to this article.
2. Clear Adjustments: Click this to remove all adjustments on the service lines. This is helpful if the ERA contains secondary payments or if the adjustments were not added correctly.
3. Reset to Default: Use this link to reset all service lines to the original ERA information prior to any edits. Note, this will only work for ERAs that have not been posted.
4. The Insurance Company name field allows you map this ERA payer to one of your insurances in Therabill. Once you've completed this mapping once, all future ERAs from this payer will map to that insurance name in your database. If you ever need to update this mapping link, enter a new payer name and click Update Insurance Mapping.
5. Optionally, you can enter the Deposit Date for the ERA.

Let's review the Service Lines.

• Below this will be all the service lines the payer is reporting adjudication information on. The lines are first grouped by Client Name and then sorted by Date of Service.
• If the client has any unassigned payments, it will be displayed in red next to their name.
• Each service line will display the Payer Claim Reference #, DOS, CPT code, Units billed, Billed amount, Adjustment amount, Paid amount, Reason (remark) code for adjustments and patient responsibility, Claim Status, Patient Responsibility amount, Apply to Unassigned, Apply boxes, and a Session Action drop-down.

Note: The first row (un-editable values) on each service line is generated using the 835 file sent by the payer. If you feel that the information displayed is incorrect, you will need to contact the payer.

Applying an ERA

Choosing how much adjustment/payment to apply.

Each service line will have a row that starts with an Apply checkbox. To skip posting that line when applying an ERA, simply uncheck that box.

Each adjustment column and payment column will have a text box underneath it. The application will automatically fill in the text box with the adjustment amount and the payment amount reported by the payer. Whatever amounts are entered into the boxes when the ERA is applied will be posted to those service lines. You have the ability change the value in these boxes.

NOTE: If the adjustment amount is equal to the billed amount, the adjustment text box will be blank.

You also have the option to change the Session Action for each service line. Make sure that the appropriate action you want to be applied is selected before you apply the ERA. The system will select a default action based on a variety of factors listed in the table below.

For more information, please see Session Actions.

Applying to Unassigned

If the system detects a client has unassigned payments and there is Patient Responsibility (PR) designated by the payer, it will automatically be disbursed to the service lines. If you do not want those payments to be disbursed or you want to disburse them differently, you can manually change the amounts the Apply to Unassigned boxes. You cannot apply more than the total unassigned payments available.

Applying the ERA

Once you have reviewed/entered all of the Adjustment and Paid boxes and you have chosen the session action for each line item, you can post the payments. Simply click the Apply Payments & Adjustments button at the bottom of the ERA.

NOTE: You can only apply payments/adjustments to a service line using an ERA a single time. If all payments/adjustments on the ERA have been applied, then the Apply Payments & Adjustments button will not be present.

I clicked Apply Payments & Adjustments, but nothing happened

If you try to post an ERA and nothing happens, there is an error. There are 3 reasons why an ERA will not post:

• The Insurance Company field is blank
• A Session Action is not selected
• The Session Action is set to Mark as billed to, but the accompanying box is blank. If the Claim Status states it was forwarded to another payer, you must tell the system where it was sent. This field will be blank if there is not an additional insurance card on a client's chart. To remedy, you will either need to add that insurance card into the system or select a different action.       

Items on my ERA state: 'Could Not Match To Client' or 'Session Not Found'

For more information, please see: Could Not Match To Client or Session Not Found