Revenue cycle management can already be stressful and time-consuming. You have to communicate with the patient and the insurance provider, keep track of data, and determine the amount of money the patient owes. Recently, a new factor has appeared that might put more pressure on revenue cycle management.
A study of patient balances showed that recently, uncompensated care is rising. More and more patients are paying more for healthcare after insurance. 12.2% of patients had to pay their entire healthcare bill in the first quarter of 2017. In the first quarter of 2012, only 8% of patients had to pay their entire bill.
Because of this rise, hospitals will have to focus more on communicating with their patients to help them pay. Hospitals should offer more tools to their patients, like propensity to pay and charity scoring. Your revenue cycle management team should look into these tools for your patients, if they haven’t already.
Don’t get intimidated by the rise of uncompensated care. Your revenue cycle management team can handle it if they work proactively.
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, hospital extended business office services, and more. For additional information on our services or for any questions you may have on topics such as medical debt collection, please call 877-759-6315.