Attention hospitals: patients are indeed eager to pay. There is always the lingering possibility the circumstances may affect their financial responsibility, but if the patient receives the correct options, they are more inclined to take care of those loose ends. In turn, hospitals are in a better position to make greater front-end collections.
For example, there is the option of utilizing personal income as a threshold, which provides flexible options to patients that are within the 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Another approach is to make things personal, focusing on those aforementioned circumstances on a case by case basis while concentrating less on income.
Hospitals have seen degrees of success by taking the time to focus on personalizing. Instead of a “one payment plan fits all” approach, personalized payment plans tailored around each individual patient create greater odds of success. These payment plans could take into account unique factors such as payment history, the patient’s credit score, or any residual income. It is imperative to tweak these payment plans to ensure it is ideal for the patient and does not create a financial burden they cannot handle. More often than not, this will ultimately lead to the patient not making any payments.
This update is by Medical Accounts Systems, a full-service revenue cycle management company providing a number of services including insurance follow up and managed care disputes, physician reimbursement, extended business office services, and more. For additional information on our services or for any questions you may have on topics such as hospital bad debt, please call 877-759-6315.