VOB software vs outsourcing vs calling payers yourself

The short answer

Most programs end up with a mix. An electronic check answers the money questions in seconds. A phone call is still needed for level-of-care details. And someone has to own every authorization's last day. The real question is who does each part, and how fast.

We're biased: we make Quick VOB. We also run an IOP/PHP program that sends VOB requests to its billing company by email and waits for a PDF to come back. That works, but a caller at 9 PM on a Friday doesn't wait for Monday. So here is the comparison we'd want to read.

The three parts of every VOB

1. The electronic check. A real-time eligibility request (the 270/271 transaction) through a clearinghouse returns active coverage, plan dates, deductible, out-of-pocket, coinsurance, copays and sometimes prior auth, straight from the payer's system.
2. The call. Payers rarely send level-of-care details electronically: whether PHP or IOP is covered, how many days, whether it needs precertification, and how reviews work. A person, on the behavioral health line, with a reference number at the end.
3. The authorization. Getting it, recording it, and asking for more days before it runs out. Our prior authorization guide covers this part.

Any option that skips one of these just moves the work somewhere else.

The three ways, side by side

	Calling payers yourself	Outsourced VOB service	VOB software, in-house
Speed	As long as the phone tree and the hold. One vendor puts a manual VOB at an hour or more per client [1].	Whatever the service's staff and hours allow. You wait for the PDF.	The electronic part in seconds to a minute, while the caller is still on the line. The call is still yours.
After hours	Many payer lines are closed nights and weekends.	Depends on the service's hours. Ask.	Electronic checks run any time the payer's system answers.
Cost	No vendor bill. Staff time on hold is the cost.	Per VOB, a monthly fee, or folded into a billing percentage.	A monthly fee, sometimes a setup fee, and sometimes a per-check charge. See below.
Accuracy	Only as good as the questions asked and the notes taken.	Experienced callers, but you see their summary, not the payer's answer.	The electronic answer comes straight from the payer. Level-of-care details still depend on the call.
Level-of-care details	Yes, from the rep.	Usually, if the service makes the call. Ask.	Only what the payer sends. Good software shows what still needs the call.
Control	Full, but often lives in someone's notebook.	The record lives with the vendor until they send it. Client data leaves your systems, so you need a BAA.	Your team sees every answer and keeps the record. The vendor still needs a BAA.
Authorizations	A spreadsheet or a calendar, if someone keeps it up.	Often not part of the VOB service.	Some tools track them; many don't. Ask.

No option guarantees payment. A VOB is what the payer said at that moment; eligibility and benefits are still subject to the plan's terms, medical necessity and authorization. Keep the rep's name and reference number from every call.

What each one costs

Calling payers yourself

No invoice, but not free. Count the hours your admissions or billing staff spend on hold, and the admissions lost while a family waits for an answer.

Outsourced VOB services

Prices are rarely published. Some billing companies include VOBs in their fee; standalone services charge per VOB or by the month. Ask what's included: the electronic check alone, or the call for each level of care too.

VOB and eligibility software

Many vendors don't publish prices. Of the published plans we found:

• pVerify lists eligibility plans starting at $250 a month and advanced eligibility at $400 a month, with setup fees quoted separately [2].
• VerifyTX doesn't publish current prices [3]. A 2019 brochure for its VerifyTreatment product listed plans of $300, $600 and $800 a month, each with a cap on monthly verifications [4]; check with them for today's prices.

Quick VOB

$99 a month for the whole team, plus each question to the payer at the clearinghouse’s standard rate, and a $200 one-time setup. Each question is billed at the clearinghouse’s standard rate, about 30¢. A full check is usually a few questions: the main benefits, then one for each kind of level-of-care benefit you ask about, and a second try when the payer is silent. There's no cap on users.

An example: a program that runs 60 checks a month, at about three questions each, pays about $54 in checks plus $99, or about $153 a month. That's an estimate; your payers and the levels you ask about change it.

When each one makes sense

• Call payers yourself when you admit a few people a month, your staff has time, and nobody is waiting on the answer.
• Outsource when nobody on your team can own VOBs, or your billing company already does them well and fast enough for your callers. Get the turnaround in writing.
• Run checks in-house when admissions needs the money answer while the caller is on the line, you take calls nights and weekends, or you want the record in your own hands.
• Mix them, as most programs do: an in-house check for the instant answer, then your staff or your billing company makes the level-of-care call.

Whatever you choose, watch for behavioral health carve-outs. A check against the wrong company looks fine until the claim comes back.

Questions to ask any VOB vendor

1. What's the turnaround, in writing, including nights, weekends and holidays?
2. Do you make the call for each level of care, or only run the electronic check?
3. Do I see the payer's actual answer, or only your summary?
4. Do you flag carve-outs and check with the carve-out too?
5. Do you record the rep's name and the call reference number?
6. Do you track authorizations and warn me before they end?
7. What does it cost all-in: monthly fee, setup, per check, per user, overage?
8. Will you sign a Business Associate Agreement, and does it cover 42 CFR Part 2 records?
9. Can I export everything if I leave?

For what a complete VOB should contain, see the VOB checklist. For Quick VOB's answers to these, see Quick VOB questions.

More from Quick VOB: the VOB checklist · prior authorization guide · behavioral health carve-outs · Quick VOB questions · Quick VOB home

Sources

1. Behave Health (a VOB and billing vendor), "VOB Delays = Addiction Treatment Admissions Killer," 2021. behavehealth.com
2. pVerify, "Pricing Plans for Eligibility," checked October 2026. pverify.com
3. G2, "VerifyTX Pricing," checked October 2026. g2.com
4. VerifyTreatment brochure, 2019. verifytx.com

Competitor prices are from their public pages on the dates shown and may have changed. This guide is general information, not legal or billing advice.