If you work in a medical billing company then you will get a good laugh out of this. What you are about to read is a true story of an incident at a medical billing company. The names of the people in the company and the company itself, as well as its location have been changed so as to protect the innocent and the guilty. For those of you who don't work in a medical billing company, you may not believe that something like this can possibly happen. It can.

It was just before the next HCPCS update. The company, we'll call them, XYZ Billing, needed to get the latest HCPCS codes from Medicare. They did not have a contract with the medical billing software company, which is why they had to get the update directly from Medicare and pay for it. However, in order to do this, they needed the networking department to set up a link to Medicare, since they didn't do electronic billing. The networking department needed access from the security administrator in order to access the Medicare site. Add to all this, the programmers had to come up with something to actually work the HCPCS codes into the system because they did manual HCPCS and never did an update before. This should be a lesson to make sure you get ALL the functionality from your software vendor when purchasing the software.

Well, it turns out that networking was having problems connecting to the Internet because of a firewall that was put up by the security department. In contacting the security department, networking was told that they would not be able to drop the firewall because of direct orders from the corporate office because of a recent attack on their network where they were the victim of hackers and a DOS (Denial Of Service) attack.

In the meantime, the medical billing department was falling terribly behind with their billing because they didn't have current HCPCS codes. So the manager of billing, we'll call him John Doe, calls up Jim Smith at networking and Joe Brown at security and reads them both the riot act. He then calls up the corporate office and tells them that if they don't want their medical billing company to be in chapter 11, they'll drop the stupid firewall and let us get our HCPCS update.

To make a long story short, the firewall was dropped, security gave networking the access to connect to Medicare and networking made it so that billing could download the latest HCPCS codes. The medical billing people downloaded the codes and programming found a way to get them into the system, though it wasn't easy. They then immediately called up the software company and asked them to give them the HCPCS update as part of the software package.

The moral of this story is simple. If you ever get involved in a medical billing company, understand that you CAN make a difference if you just open up your big mouth.

If you're just starting out as a medical billing company, one of the first decisions you have to make is what claims you're going to support. In other words, who are you going to bill? Because of all the complexities involved with medical billing procedures, we can't possibly cover all the pros and cons of billing each type of agency but we will cover the main points. This way, if you are just starting out, you can decide what kind of claims and carriers you want to support.

Let's start with billing Medicare. Medicare is one of the oldest carriers in the United States. It is run by the government but each region and office is independent and has slightly different rules. So you'll have to check for uniformity between them. That is one of the drawbacks of billing Medicare. They should all be the same, but subtle differences make them difficult to bill the same way.

Another drawback of billing Medicare is that they are run by the government. The US government is notorious for its red tape. The amount of time it could take to get a claim paid via Medicare is better measured in dog years than people years. In the case of a disputed claim, you may never see the money until you're old and gray.

The good part about billing Medicare is that because they are a government agency, they are non- profit. So whatever they are supposed to pay you for a claim, as long as it is in their pricing guide as such, they WILL pay you. No questions asked as long as it is a valid claim. In that respect, you can't beat Medicare as far as knowing what your income is going to be because you know what you will be paid up front.

With billing a private insurance company like Prudential, you pretty much have the opposite problem. Because Prudential is a profit making company, customer service is critical. So they will make every attempt to process a claim as quickly as possible. Of course, with the larger insurance companies, this isn't always true unless you are a very large account. The reason is because small accounts are looked at as insignificant and are treated as such by large companies. If you are a small company, you are better off going with a small insurance company.

Also, because a private insurance company like Prudential has to make a profit for its shareholders, you won't always get the money for a claim that you expect. In some cases, you may get anywhere from 75% all the way down to 35% of the original billing cost of the claim. Don't expect to fight these companies and win this. They'll pull out all sorts of statistics, backed by lawyers, as to why your claim is only worth so much money. So with the large insurance companies, it's pretty much be happy with what you get and be glad you got it.

Everybody has their own point of view on every subject. In this world, our point of view, at least in our minds, is the right one. Well, that is no different in the world of medical billing. The patients think they should be paid for the claims, the medical billing companies want the patients to get paid for their claims so they can make their money and certainly the doctors want the patients to get paid for their claims or they'll go to another doctor. But what about the insurance carriers? It seems that they are the last people who want to pay claims. Well, this is for a very good reason. While everybody else is getting paid, the insurance carriers are paying out.

Sure, these carriers also get a monthly premium from somewhere, whether it be from us poor workers if they are a government agency or from the patients themselves if they are a private insurance company. But the truth is, especially with government run agencies, the money coming in is far less than the money going out. That is why the United States Medicare and Medicaid programs are in such trouble and in danger of going broke. Medical costs are skyrocketing because doctors are charging more and more for services, but the common worker doesn't make enough to put into the fund to make up for these increases.

As for private insurance companies, they have an even bigger problem. Whereas the government agencies can work at a loss because they're non-profit, the private insurance companies have to show a profit to their stockholders. Otherwise, the company goes out of business. This makes it so that they are even more reluctant to pay out claims. This however, is a real catch 22. See, the people they are paying the claims to are the people who are providing them with their income in the form of insurance premiums. So if they're not being paid, they're going to take their business elsewhere. Talk about a no win situation for a private insurance company. That's why so many of them have gone out of business over the last 30 years. Even the big giant Prudential has had its problems.

Because of these concerns, the insurance carriers have to be very careful about paying out claims. They have to research each one carefully to make sure the claim itself is legit. This will ultimately slow up the process, which is what medical billing companies and patients end up complaining about. But the truth is, there are a lot of bogus claims out there and if these insurance carriers paid out on all of them, they'd be broke sooner than you can say "I've fallen and I can't get up". So it is understandable that these insurance carriers run their businesses the way they do.

Almost everyone it seems thinks that working from home is a great goal. This is very true, if you have the discipline to stay focused without constant supervision. There are literally thousands of small business ideas with many that would allow you to work from home. Here are a few things to consider before you quit your job and follow your dream

FIND WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO The key to any successful small business is to understand the market and your own personal talents. It doesn't matter that some businesses may offer more money. If you don't love the work, you won't be willing to make the effort necessary to be successful in any small business. Unlike corporate America, and small business is a lot like a small child. Both will depend on you and your decisions to help them grow and stay healthy

DECIDE WHAT IS SUCCESS The definition of success is different, for many of us. For some it's loads of money in the bank. While for others it's having more time to spend with family and friends. Only you can decide how much money is enough.

For some, a successful small business might generate enough money to let a spouse stay home or go to school. It may be a way to save more money so you can retire at a much earlier age.

FIND A NICHE AND FILL IT You've probably heard many people suggest that you find a niche. A niche is simply a small part of the market that isn't being serviced now. Realize that the growth of the Web itself has been a phenomenon driven by entrepreneurs like yourself who want their own small business. We're not just talking Web businesses however is there are many home-based business opportunities that will allow you to work from home and make a full-time income.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX: while many people dreaming of their own small business will look to standard small-business opportunities. The trick is to find a unique way to develop that business idea. Consider a hairdresser. If your talent is cutting and styling hair, most hairdressers looking for a small business opportunity may rent their own styling chair in an established salon. Thinking outside the box, that same hairdresser could offer in-home haircare to senior citizens who may have a difficult time driving themselves to a typical brick-and-mortar business.

Spend some time developing these four points, and you will find that there are hundreds of small business ideas that fit perfectly with your talents and abilities. Everyone has a set of skills. All you need to do is:

1. Find out what you love to do
2. Understand your definition of success
3. Figure out how you can put your skills to use in the marketplace
4. Offer your services were skills to the market in a unique way

It could be forgiven to think that the name ‘Ladbrokes’ is only synonymous with the gambling industry. However, if one looks deeper into the company portfolio, they will find that in addition to being recognised as the world’s leading bookmaker, they also have the likes of Vernon’s football pools and Hilton Hotels International among their list of companies.

Originally formed as a bookmaking operation in 1886, betting on horses that were trained by one of the founding partners of the company, it was soon realised that taking bets rather than making bets would be a far more lucrative market to be involved in. Gambling was the company’s main business which they began first through the ‘gentlemans clubs’ of London and later through a telephone office. This office marked the first Ladbrokes betting office, as betting shops as they are today were illegal until 1961. An aggressive expansion campaign between 1964 and 1967 saw the group buy up properties, extending and refurbishing them to open as licensed betting offices. As a result, group profits soared as betting turnover increased markedly, allowing the company to float on the stock exchange for almost £1 million. In turn, the Ladbrokes shop estate ballooned from around 400 shops to over 1000 shops up until 1971.

Not content with their lot, the company then diversified into several other markets, including the hotel market, with the launch of their Ladbrokes chain of hotels. In 1999 the group bought over the ‘Stakis’ chain of hotels, owned by the late Cypriot owner, Sir Reo Stakis who sadly passed away in 2001. Other ventures that the Ladbroke group were involved in were the acquisition of DIY chain ‘Texas Homecare’ who they later sold to the Sainsburys group, who then merged the brand with their own Homebase brand. Ladbrokes are also responsible for the football pools company ‘Vernons’, who they still own today.

Soon after the acquision of Stakis hotels, the Ladbroke Group renamed and rebranded their entire hotel stock as Hilton Hotels International, making them one of the largest hotel operators in the world. Subsequently the company renamed themselves as the Hilton Group Plc, in order to reflect the increased size of the hotel business within the group, and entered a joint marketing arrangement with the US based Hilton Hotels corporation, which operates Hilton Hotels in the US.

The urban wear market is picking up steam, as its appeal spreads beyond the confines of the urban market.

Spreading due to the popularity of rap music, rap inspired video games, and films featuring rap artists, the urban wear market has been steadily rising.

Many retailers have been trying to increase their sales by tapping into this lucrative market.

While the urban wear market does present many compelling opportunities to make money, retailers need to be aware of the fickle nature of the market.

For instance, brands gain and lose their popularity in relation to the level of popularity of the rap performers that market the brand.

In other words, for a retailer to carefully decide which urban brands to stock, he needs to keep track of the popularity of the musicians who wear and promote the clothing.

By reading hip hop magazines, and following media reports, retailers can gage which urban brands are experiencing demand, and which are experiencing a diminishing level of popularity.

For example, when 50 Cent, a well known rap artist, appeared in a major film his clothing line experienced a strong level of demand.

On the flip side, FUBU saw a strong drop in demand for its clothing line due to the lack of a popular rap musician promoting its clothing line.

Other brands such as Ecko have been more aggressive in developing lines inspired by well known rappers, as they did with 50 Cent.

But all of this can be meaningless to a retailer unless he knows which rappers are considered to be in the spotlight.

The best way to conduct this research is through an ongoing online search using news sources and rap related forums.

Hip hop and urban wear sellers need innovative ideas to increase their sales.

The following 3 great ideas are perfect sellers for retailers, eBay sellers, and online businesses looking to tap into the hip hop and urban market.

Hip Hop Seller #1 Rap CDs from up and coming rappers.

This strategy has two important components to it. By offering CDs of rappers which are not well known you will be standing out from your competition.

Since most other hip hop and urban sellers will not carry the CDs, you can capture more sales.

The second component is an increase in your street credibility. Buyers will consider you a serious hip hop vendor since you carry merchandise that other sellers don’t. You will also gain a reputation as someone who has his finger on the pulse of the hip hop scene.

Hip Hop Seller #2

New urban wear brands.

Many urban brands start gaining popularity on the street before national vendors carry them. Stock these brands and you will be staying one step ahead of the competition.

Using this strategy will also ensure that you are seen as a trend setting retailer, which will result in your developing a strong following.

Hip Hop Seller #3

Publicize news, events, and new products on the hip hop scene.

By being a source of information you will gain a base of customers that will turn to you repeatedly to learn the latest developments.

Once you have their attention you can capitalize by selling your other products.

Hip Hop Seller #4

Reading material.

Once you have your customer in your store, you need to serve his needs. Besides your customers desire for hip hop products, he also wants to be informed and entertained. Hip hop related books and magazines are a great way to achieve this.

The urban market is unique in the sense that the customer base buys out of a sense of popular appeal, as opposed to practical considerations.

While the business attire market buys based on practical considerations such as corporate dress codes and client interactions, the urban market buys based on other criteria.

Customers buying urban clothing will opt for extra large sized clothing, even if their regular size is smaller.

To maximize your urban wear sales you need to use these urban fashion tips.

Urban Fashion Tip #1

Concentrate on large sizes.

Large sizes sell well because the style is to wear baggy and extra large looking clothing. While the customer may only need a medium sized shirt, he will often prefer a 2X or larger sized shirt.

Urban Fashion Tip #2

Bright colors rule.

The name of the game is flash appeal. The louder the clothing is, the more it will stand out. With prices ranging over $100 for a pair of jeans, urban wear customers want their clothing to be noticeable.

Urban Fashion Tip #3

The name is worth gold. Before you check the quality, check the name. Retailers of urban clothing know how important the name is. Customers want the brands which are hot, and will vote with their wallets for the hottest urban brands.

Urban Fashion Tip #4

Jeans sell. Simply said, urban and hip hop jeans sell. Jeans are considered an intrinsic element of the urban wear wardrobe.

Urban Fashion Tip #5

Outfits outsell single pieces. To experience skyrocketing urban wear sales retailers should stock up on sets. While customers will be willing to buy assorted clothing, and put together their own sets, nothing sells as well as complete ready to wear sets.