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Introduction
Ask politely, but firmly
Develop workstation aids
Transition to e-statements
Alter your statements
Review your payer contracts
Implement a financial clearance process
Collect payments at the time of service
Deploy technology
Prevent and manage denials
Reengineer your
collections cycle
Develop a dashboard
Conclusion
By Elizabeth W. Woodcock
MBA, FACMPE, CPC
Patient Collections:
12 Strategies for Success
We’ll explore strategies that will help you learn how to:
- Ask for payment politely, but firmly
- Institute payment plans via credit card on file
- Implement additional strategies to help you start seeing tangible changes to your bottom line!
Collecting patient due balances (including self-pay, high deductibles and health savings accounts) is in the current top 10 list of priorities for practice administrators, according to the Medical Group Management Association*. Assigning that level of priority to just one of the many issues that you, as an administrator, must manage may seem out of the ballpark, but your practice’s bottom line is dependent upon it.
Insurance products in the commercial and government sectors are being sold with high deductibles, often exceeding $5,000, which was unheard of just a few short years ago. Business rating firm Moody’s states, "Today's high deductibles are tomorrow's bad debt." *
As a practice management consultant for more than 20 years, I couldn’t agree more. Improving collections performance without adding unnecessary practice expense is a question I hear frequently from the physicians, managers and administrators. The market has changed, and it’s time to reengineer our internal processes to align with today’s reimbursement landscape.
Just hiring more staff in the business office is not sufficient; it’s time to take action that improves your practice’s collection function from top to bottom.
ACA Insurance Marketplace Plans: Average Medical Deductible, in Plans with Combined Medical and Prescription Drug Deductibles.*
01
Ask politely, but firmly
Strategy #1
Ask politely, but firmly
Practice asking for money; it’s a skill that is learned, not one that comes naturally.
Asking your patients to pay is a true art form. When asking patients for payment, be pleasant but steady in your approach. Never laugh, but offering a warm smile is appropriate. Always look the patient in the eye and maintain eye contact throughout the payment interaction.
While some patients will never want to pay, others are prepared to tender payment at the time of service. Front office staff, often as instructed by management, have a tendency to brush off patients because of the complexity of the transaction. Our payment system is indeed complex, but it’s time to stop making that an excuse. The bottom line: if you don’t ask, you won’t get paid.
Use an unwavering tone when asking for payment.
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02
Develop workstation aids
Strategy #2
Develop workstation aids
Install tools that can expedite the payment process.
Replace old credit card terminals tethered to the wall with streamlined devices that are easily accessible at each workstation. Consider offering flexible payment applications like payment plans, card on file and online payments, deployed with an automated receipting process. To further streamline the process for your staff, integrate the new payment tools into the daily reconciliation process.
Spend a day at the front office observing the workflow; implement changes that reduce barriers to collections and make the process easy and flexible—for both patients and staff.
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03
Transition to e-Statements
Strategy #3
Transition to e-Statements
Physicians spend upward of $8,000 each year sending out statements.
Results are limited, with patients largely ignoring the paper notices that show up in their mailbox. With snail mail on the decline in the U.S., many patients don’t even check their mail on a daily basis. A more effective strategy is to transmit statements electronically, linking an online payment system with an automated receipting process. Your time-of-service solution may include an e-statement option, or you may integrate the e-statements in your patient portal. Regardless, tie payments into your practice management system to electronically remit and to simplify the end-of-day batch-out process.
Another huge benefit? E-statements are free—a huge cost savings over paper statements that are transmitted through the postal system; with postage, printing and supplies, it typically costs $.75 to send each paper statement!
Start collecting a valid email address from patients as part of your check-in process. This ensures that your e-statements are always sent to the right address.
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04
Alter your statements
Strategy #4
Alter your statements
Of all the businesses from which patients receive statements, healthcare providers are the only ones who can’t take back their service.
Furthermore, patient balances carry over from month to month, without increasing or incurring any penalties. With no sense of urgency, the patient has little incentive to pay. Include a specific due date on the statement, and don’t make it obvious that the payment doesn’t increase with each 30-day “box” that commonly appears on statements. Unfortunately, those boxes just highlight the fact that the patient can wait a few more months before paying.
Be simple in your messaging on statements; show exactly what is due and when.
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