Office Ally FAQs

Office Ally FAQs



Q: What is Office Ally’s Submitter ID?

A: This depends on the Payer and how they set up Office Ally. ERA/EDI forms will show Office Ally’s submitter ID or Trading Partner #.


Q: How can I find or verify the NPI of a provider is correct?

A: You can check info related to NPI’s here: https://npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov/


Q: If a clinic or Dr. has insurance (medicare, VA, or any other) with a previous vendor or clearinghouse, do they simply need to let Office Ally know or do they have to go through the full enrollment process via OA forms?

A: New forms need to be filled out UNLESS they are existing Office Ally users. Any ERAs received can be transferred to zHealth by filling out the ERA Transfer form.


Q: How long does it take to set-up my insurance claims?

A: This process usually takes 30-45 days. American Speciality Health is the fastest offering 2 weeks. Cigna takes about 2-3 weeks. Medicare may take 4 weeks or longer.


Q: We are having issues with having combined ERA's coming into zHealth (for instance, an ERA came into Office Ally as 3 separate insurances/transactions/ERAs/checks however when transmitted to zHealth it came in as 1), is there any way to separate the ERA's by check number?

A: Yes, this is an option in Office Ally and the main subscriber can reach out to Office Ally (support@officeally.com or 360-975-7000) and provide the username of the account and ask them to split ERAs by check number so each will come into zHealth as a separate file. Here are the ERA splitting options Office Ally offers:

 

  • No Splitting (OA default)

  • By Provider

  • By Payer

  • Both Provider and Payer

  • By Check (our recommendation)

  • By Payer (with TRN03 in ERA Filename)


The default is no splitting so if OA receives the ERAs around the same time as other check/payer’s ERAs, then they’ll go into one file out to zHealth.


Q: Does Office Ally offer verification of benefits?

A: Office Ally used to offer 3 options for eligibility verification (a free and 2 paid versions). However, that changed in on July 1, 2023. Now they only offer paid versions. Here is more info: https://assets-global.website-files.com/63167bd0b4cc9f9b0f328964/64ee6bd1b02e6e6e1a1dc281_20230821%20Eligibility%20and%20Benefits%20User%20Guide.pdf 


Q: How to set-up AutoPay In Office Ally?

A: Please refer to the below link.


Q: How to turn of Office Ally email notifications on claim submissions?

Clinics can turn off Office Ally email notifications on claims submissions from within their account by doing the following:

1.Log into your Security Admin account
2.Go to Manage Users and edit the user
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3.Once the user is selected you will then select Show advance settings.
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4.In the advanced settings uncheck the Send Email Confirmations checkbox.
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Clinics can always Office Ally support team if they need assistance with this

Q: What is the general claim submission process?

A: Here is the process to follow to submit electronic claims:
  • You submit the claims on zHealth, zHealth electronically sends them over to the clearing house (Office Ally - 837 EDI). 
  • OA validates the claim and forwards it to the respective payer for adjudication but if there is an error (277ca), OA shares that with zHealth.
  • The payer/insurance also validates the claim and might send any error back (277) to Office Ally electronically and that gets shared with zHealth.
  • The payer then processes the claim and if approved or denied - sends the ERA (electronic remittance advice) back to Office-Ally and OA shares it with zHealth.
  • When zHealth receives the ERA, it processes it and keeps it in the billing center for you to post payments for the respective claims.

We have seen the ERA files can take from 1 week to 4 weeks to be shared with zHealth (Payer to Office Ally to zHealth) although you might have received payment and acknowledgement from payer by then.

Q: My clinic has insurance (medicare, VA, or any other) with another clearinghouse, do I simply need to let Office Ally know or do I have to go through the full enrollment process via OA forms?

A: New form need to be filled out UNLESS they are existing Office Ally users

Q: Does Office Ally offer verification of benefits?

A: Office Ally offers 3 options for eligibility verification (a free and 2 paid versions). 
  1. Service Center Eligibility Request Tool (or Real-Time Eligibility Verification tool) - This is a free tool that allows you to confirm, in real time, the eligibility status of a patient prior to submitting their claim electronically. All admin accounts have this free tool activated automatically. Here is how you can get started with the Real-Time Eligibility Verification tool.
  2. Practice Mate Eligibility Verification Service - This is a paid tool that costs $10/month for the first 100 transactions and $.10 for each additional transactions. Once you have completed the Eligibility Verification User Agreement and Office Ally has linked your account you must complete the Eligibility Settings in Manage Office.
  3. Real-Time 270/271 Transactions - With this paid tool, you can send multiple 270 requests simultaneously. Charges based on a volume tier system. Here are the links to Real Time 270/271 User Agreement, Real Time Eligibility Companion Guide, and CORE Phase II (270) Connectivity Rules.

Q: Can I start filling out all the EDI/ERA Enrollment forms prior to getting/having my Office Ally account set-up?

A: Yes, you can.

Q: How do I pre-enroll with insurance companies that require pre-enrollment?

A: To get started on the pre-enrollment for those payers who require pre-enrollment, go to Office Ally’s Payer EDI Enrollment Forms page here. Find the state and respective insurance company that you need to pre-enroll with. Click on the link and follow the instructions provided and complete all required forms referenced in the instructions. There is no cost for pre-enrollment.

Q: How long does the pre-enrollment process take?

A: Pre-enrollment for most commercial payers is usually complete within one week. Pre-enrollment for Medicare, Medi-Cal, and CHAMPUS/TriWest varies from 1 to 6 weeks.


Q: Do I need to purchase Office Ally to send claims?

A: No, the Office Ally website interfaces with our zHealth Practice Management Software. All you need to do is to create your Office Ally account if you don’t have an account and integrate zHealth and Office Ally with the help of our Office Ally Set-up and Integration Guide.

Q: How much time does it take to set-up my Office Ally account?

A: It can take anywhere from 1-4 weeks to set up Office Ally and start submitting claims.

Q: How much time does it take to make the switch to OA if I am filing to Medicare and VA?

A: If you’re currently filing to Medicare or VA prior to making the switch to OA, this may take up to 4-6 weeks to make the transition.

Q: How to find claim ID (or Filing ID or Number) in my Office Ally account?

A: Login to your Office Ally account and follow the steps below to find your claim through the Office Ally inventory reporting tool:
  1. On the left hand side of the page, you will see a list of blue links. Under the category of ‘Reports’ you will see ‘Inventory Reporting’. Click that link.
  2. Once on the page, make sure the correct ‘Form Type’ is selected for the kind of claim you are searching for.
  3. Change the ‘Date Type’ to ‘DOS’.
  4. Change the ‘From Date’ and ‘To Date’ to the date of service that you are looking for.
  5. In the ‘Patient Last Name’ field, enter in the patient's last name, then click ‘Search’
  6. After the page refreshes, scroll down the page and you should see a list of claims.
  7. There is a column for Claim ID for each claim; this is the Office Ally Claim ID.


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