In a recent Transunion survey of hospital administrators, nearly half of the surveyed administrators say their hospitals have experienced a 6 percent to 10 percent increase in uninsured and underinsured patients since early 2007. Almost 30 percent observed an increase of 11 percent to 20 percent. The survey covered hospitals in 15 states.
The survey also reported:
- Nearly 79 percent of respondents said they are concerned that Consumer Directed Healthcare Plans will increase their bad debt within the next two years.
- When ranking business objectives in order of importance, 43 percent of respondents said increasing collections at the time of service and post discharges were their number one objective, followed by improving operational efficiencies at 21 percent and decreasing bad debt at 18 percent.
Given the current economic times and the trend outlined in the survey, it is critical to excel at patient collections. It is critical to use ll of the tips, tricks and tools available to improve patient collections. Without the latest (and proven) approaches it is easy to spend a lot of resources without much result in patient collections:
- Expand your use of the latest generation of on-line bill presentment and payment acceptance services/applications. These latest tools prevent you from ever being unable to accept a form of payment and they can lower your cost of pursuing patient balances.
- Have more than one credit-card reader if you're processing a lot of patients at the same time. If possible, install a card reader with a built-in check scanner to convert a paper check into an electronic one, debiting the patient's account that much faster.
- Put in place a clear policy about paying co-pays (and any other amounts due) on the day of service. Once in place; stick to the policy. If the policy allows patients to be seen without paying amounts due on the service date then make sure they leave the office with the information they need to pay you quickly - a patient statement and an envelope with the payment address.
- Tailor your follow-up based on the credit status of each patient. Your three basic categories could be: (1) insured, employed patients with a record of timely payments; (2) insured, employed patients with a spotty history; and (3) uninsured or underinsured patients. You might want to dispense with follow-up calls altogether for the underinsured or uninsured, but as part of your collection policy, you might help them sign up for Medicaid or charity resources from the get-go.
- Use a monthly bonus system for employees that collect patient payments in the office. Make the amount meaningful and the metrics clear and easy to track.
Follow these steps and you can side step the bad debt train wreck.
Copyright 2008. Carl Mays II - 15478
The survey also reported:
- Nearly 79 percent of respondents said they are concerned that Consumer Directed Healthcare Plans will increase their bad debt within the next two years.
- When ranking business objectives in order of importance, 43 percent of respondents said increasing collections at the time of service and post discharges were their number one objective, followed by improving operational efficiencies at 21 percent and decreasing bad debt at 18 percent.
Given the current economic times and the trend outlined in the survey, it is critical to excel at patient collections. It is critical to use ll of the tips, tricks and tools available to improve patient collections. Without the latest (and proven) approaches it is easy to spend a lot of resources without much result in patient collections:
- Expand your use of the latest generation of on-line bill presentment and payment acceptance services/applications. These latest tools prevent you from ever being unable to accept a form of payment and they can lower your cost of pursuing patient balances.
- Have more than one credit-card reader if you're processing a lot of patients at the same time. If possible, install a card reader with a built-in check scanner to convert a paper check into an electronic one, debiting the patient's account that much faster.
- Put in place a clear policy about paying co-pays (and any other amounts due) on the day of service. Once in place; stick to the policy. If the policy allows patients to be seen without paying amounts due on the service date then make sure they leave the office with the information they need to pay you quickly - a patient statement and an envelope with the payment address.
- Tailor your follow-up based on the credit status of each patient. Your three basic categories could be: (1) insured, employed patients with a record of timely payments; (2) insured, employed patients with a spotty history; and (3) uninsured or underinsured patients. You might want to dispense with follow-up calls altogether for the underinsured or uninsured, but as part of your collection policy, you might help them sign up for Medicaid or charity resources from the get-go.
- Use a monthly bonus system for employees that collect patient payments in the office. Make the amount meaningful and the metrics clear and easy to track.
Follow these steps and you can side step the bad debt train wreck.
Copyright 2008. Carl Mays II - 15478
About the Author:
Carl Mays is an expert in medical billing and medical billing companies. He has more than a dozen years of experience with medical billing. Carl has published several articles on important healthcare billing issues and consults with practices and facilities across the US.
