Head-to-Head Architecture Comparison
When family physicians evaluate documentation tools, the visible artifact is the note, but the expensive part is everything after it: moving text into the chart, choosing codes, and defending those codes eighteen months later. Heidi Health produces careful, readable drafts across many specialties. Our review asks a narrower question: what happens between the drafted note and the signed Tebra superbill?
Merry AI is built as a Tebra-specific layer. A per-tab context keyed to patient and encounter binds the overlay to the note editor sections and superbill code fields, so text and codes land where they belong without a clipboard step. Heidi's general-purpose design is a strength across many EHRs, yet it leaves field placement and billing logic to the clinician.
| Feature | Merry AI | Heidi Health |
|---|---|---|
| Real pricing | Pro Annual $54/mo ($648/yr), flat | Free tier with limits; Pro ~$99/mo (~$1,188/yr) |
| DOM injection speed | Under 1 second into bound Tebra note fields | Clipboard transfer, roughly 30 to 90 seconds per note |
| Tebra note and superbill binding | Assessment, Plan, code, and modifier fields mapped | Not bound to Tebra superbill fields |
| Group note-splitting | Diarized per-patient notes for family and sibling visits | Single consolidated session note |
| CPT G2211 capture | Criteria-gated attestation, suppressed on modifier 25 | No native G2211 gating |
| Attestation logging | Timestamped accept, edit, or reject audit trail | Note history within workspace |
| Data retention | RAM-only audio, zeroized after transcription | Account-level retention settings |
Pricing figures reflect published list rates at the time of review; verify current terms with each vendor before procurement. Heidi offers a capable free tier with feature limits, and its Pro tier is the fair comparison point for a full-time family medicine clinician.
Cost Math for a Family Medicine Panel
The arithmetic is short enough to check by hand. Merry AI Pro Annual is $54/mo, or $648 per clinician per year. Heidi Pro at roughly $99/mo month-to-month comes to $1,188. The difference is $540 per clinician, about 45 percent, with no per-encounter metering on either side of our ledger.
For context on enterprise contracts, ambient systems such as Nuance DAX are typically sold around $8,000 per clinician per year, while month-to-month tools such as Freed AI list near $99/mo. Heidi sits in the second group on price, which is why the deciding factor is workflow and coding behavior rather than sticker cost alone.
Per-Clinician and Five-Clinician Arithmetic
A five-physician family practice pays $3,240 per year on Merry AI Pro Annual versus $5,940 on Heidi Pro, a $2,700 gap. The larger figure sits elsewhere: at roughly $16 national Medicare payment per G2211 claim, about four qualifying longitudinal visits per clinic day across 244 days yields near $15,600 per physician. Software savings are real; captured complexity is larger.
G2211 Attestation and Modifier 25 Logic
CMS describes G2211 as an add-on for visit complexity inherent to care that serves as the continuing focal point for all needed services, or ongoing care for a single serious or complex condition. It attaches to office/outpatient E/M codes 99202 to 99205 and 99211 to 99215. The code recognizes a relationship, not a single intense afternoon.
Merry AI treats that distinction as a gate rather than a suggestion. The overlay reads the drafted Assessment and Plan for longitudinal signals, then reads the Tebra superbill for base code and modifiers before it writes anything. Code definitions are maintained against https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/cpt and the CMS G2211 FAQ.
When the Attestation Is Appended
The attestation is appended only when three conditions hold: an established longitudinal relationship is documented, a specific complexity stack is named (for example, type 2 diabetes with CKD stage 3a, depression tracked by PHQ-9, transportation barriers), and the note is unsigned. The injected block cites those exact factors and carries a discrete marker so the clinician can edit or remove it.
When the Attestation Is Suppressed
If modifier 25 is present, Merry AI suppresses the G2211 attestation and flags the superbill line for review. A same-day minor procedure, such as a skin biopsy or joint injection, is the common family medicine trigger. Since CY 2025, CMS permits G2211 alongside modifier 25 when the separate service is an annual wellness visit, vaccine administration, or listed Part B preventive service, so those cases route to explicit clinician confirmation instead of silent injection. Ambiguous one-off acute visits receive no attestation.
Tebra Binding, Retention, and Audit Posture
Every attestation event is logged with timestamp, encounter ID, triggering criteria, and the clinician's accept, edit, or reject action. When a payer requests records, the practice can show why G2211 was billed and why it was withheld on modifier 25 days. That is the Clinical Logic Bridge: billing logic stays tied to documentation.
Visit audio lives in RAM only, in short rolling buffers that are zeroized when transcription completes, giving a 0-day audio retention posture. Only clinically relevant text reaches the Tebra chart. Merry AI also waits for Tebra AI Note Assist drafts to stabilize, then appends at the margin rather than rewriting the narrative.
If you want this reviewed against your own panel, bring a week of de-identified superbills and we will walk the modifier 25 and G2211 lines together. Schedule a 15-Minute Workflow Audit. Template migration is covered in the FAQ below.
