Patient Responsibility Balances Place Burden on Providers
It is no secret that healthcare providers are finding it increasingly difficult to collect on balances that have been applied to patient deductibles. This is directly tied to the historically high deductible amounts on both employer and individual plans.
In the past, the majority of a provider’s reimbursement for an office visit came from the insurance company and they could expect payment within 30 days or less. With the shift in responsibility for many plans from the insurance company to the patient, providers are facing greater challenges in collecting what they are owed for their services.
There is some interesting and in some cases, a little frightening, information in this article that I came across recently. It’s worth reading the full article, but the portion talking about the success rates in collecting balances under $200.00 versus over $200.00 was particularly interesting to me. This back up a lot of what I have seen when working with providers to assist them in collecting past due patient balances.
You can find the full article here.
For information on how we can assist in collecting on past-due patient balances, contact us today.