Insurance term
ERA (Electronic Remittance Advice)
Definition
An ERA is the electronic version of an explanation of benefits, sent by the payer in the standard X12 835 format.
Why it matters for the front desk
An ERA lists what the payer paid, adjusted and denied on each claim line, and practice software can read it to post payments automatically instead of keying them in from paper. ERAs usually come with payment by electronic funds transfer (EFT). Enrolling in ERA with each major payer cuts posting time and reduces errors. Without ERA, matching a bare EFT deposit to claims takes much longer.
Related reading
Blog
Manual vs Automated: What Insurance Work Really Costs Your Front Desk
Related terms
- EOB (Explanation of Benefits) An EOB is a statement from the insurance payer that explains how a claim was processed: what was billed, allowed, paid, adjusted and left for the patient.
- Clearinghouse A clearinghouse is a company that passes electronic claims, eligibility checks and payment information between a dental practice and insurance payers.
- Coordination of Benefits Coordination of benefits (COB) is the set of rules that decides which plan pays first, and how much the second plan pays, when a patient has two dental plans.