• What options and procedure would you consider acceptable for collection of bad debt?

When people get injured and subsequently hospitalized; the last thing they want to think about is the amount of money they will now have to pay out of pocket as a result. When someone needs a life-saving procedure that thought may never cross their minds.  The reality is that in order to collect on those fees that insurance companies do not cover, medical facilities may have to put themselves in the shoes of the payor/person that owes the debt.  Talk to the person as if they are people, not just a number or an account.  I believe that if the healthcare facility is able to reduce the balance they owe and maybe put them on a monthly pay schedule the patient will be more likely to pay the balance due.  Moreover, a lot of times patients are not well informed as to what their “portion” of the uncovered insurance costs will be.  The clinical staff has to ensure that they are educated in that area in order to ensure that they will understand and plan for the balance portion they are responsible for.  In addition, patients can often apply for a medical line of credit such as Care Credit to pay fees not covered by insurance companies. Patients can also be encouraged to utilize their HSA accounts to cover copays and deductibles (Schwartz, 2010).

References:

Schwartz, S. (2010, December). When Patients cant pay. Physicians Practice-Your Practice your Way, 26(6).

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