ClaimTek Medical Billing Success Stories

Linda McGarvie says less is more

Port Angeles, Wash. biller finds value in small town

The strength of America has always been in its small towns. You can keep New York and Los Angeles and their 24/7 lifestyles, dinner at midnight and all-night clubs. Good old-fashioned U.S. values are best found in the small town squares bordered by a barber shop, five-and-dime, bank and post office.

Port Angeles, Wash. is nestled near the Canadian border, two hours north of Seattle. It's big news in the town of 30,000 when a fire destroys an apartment house or a local veteran dies in Iraq. The new Eighth Street Bridge construction is ready to begin, says the chamber of commerce website.

You'll find lots of small town shopkeepers along Main Street. But you'll also find Linda McGarvie of Cascade Billing working out of her home where she can be closer to her children. Maybe they're a little older now, but every mom likes to be near her kids and Linda decided to start her own business steps away from them.

It needed to be a business McGarvie knew. Something that didn't require a heavy investment. Something with flexibility of hours so she could attend the kids' school events or ballgames. And something that made good money.

Medical billing was McGarvie's profession beforehand. It's now her own business.

McGarvie currently processes electronic medical claims for a mental health provider and a general practitioner. One's inside the town limits, the other responded to her ad in a national magazine. It seems the world is willing to come to a small town like Port Angeles when there's a good company ready to handle their business.

McGarvie, 39, spent 12 years overseeing medical claims for a doctor. But like many entrepreneurs, she saw more opportunity working for herself.

"You can make more money on your own," McGarvie said. "It's a lot of work, but if you can count on yourself then it's nice have flexibility to do the work and have your own business."

The key was gaining the proper software to base her business. That's when it all came together. That's when McGarvie found ClaimTek Systems' MedOffice program. McGarvie worked with many different softwares over the past decade, but MedOffice quickly gained her confidence.

"It's really easy to do," McGarvie said. "ClaimTek staff is always very helpful whenever I've called for support."

Port Angeles may be a small town, but McGarvie has big dreams. Of a time when her client list takes her from a home office to a local commercial space. It's not that far off. Who know -- maybe the Eighth Street will be completed by then!