Patient balances after insurance (PBAI) remain a challenge for hospitals, and the issue is only becoming worse according to a recent analysis. Back in the first quarter of 2012 PBAI increased by eight percent of the total bill responsibility and it only became worse in the first quarter of last year, increasing by just over twelve percent. Collectively, the trend resulted in a massive increase of nearly ninety percent total hospital revenue attributed to PBAI.
As patients face greater costs, so is uncompensated care. This type of care refers to the combination of charity care and bad debt. This type of care increased by more than $2 billion dollars back in 2016, the first time it has done so in three years. The rise in PBAI has also resulted in providers becoming more exposed to bad debt, considerably contributing to the increase in uncompensated care.
In regards to Medicare, Medicare Bad Debt also saw increases of more than $3 billion in 2012 to about $3.6 billion in 2016. This type of bad debt is a result of Medicare patients not paying their co-insurance or deductibles. The increase in Medicare Bad Debt suggests that hospitals are still experiencing reimbursement pressure that can be attributed directly to the rise in patient responsibility.
This update is by Medical Accounts Systems, a full-service healthcare 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.
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