When it comes to uncollected debts, health-care providers are losing billions of dollars every year. The latest tally for hospitals alone was $39.3 billion, according to the American Hospital Association.
Staggering, isn’t it? So how do health-care providers get more people to pay? Good question. Although no one has the perfect answer, here are four things that hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices can do to increase their collection rates, thanks to a fascinating blog by Jim Bohnsack, vice president of TransUnion Healthcare.
- Collect at the point of service: You will have far more success collecting out-of-pocket charges at the front desk than after patients leave the office. One study suggests that the collection rate at the point of service is 96 percent, compared with 18 percent just one month after the patient’s visit.
- Prepare the patient for payment: Whenever possible, communicate the cost of service to a prospective patient. This can be done by telephone, text message or whatever method you find most effective. The point is to let patients know what to expect before they arrive in the office without the ability to pay.
- Ask the question: This may seem like a no-brainer, but make sure to train your staff to ask for payment. Although it may seem uncomfortable, seeking payment on the front-end is much more pleasant from a customer-service standpoint than doing it on the back-end.
- Make it easy to pay: Don’t create roadblocks to payment. If you don’t accept certain types of payment, let your patients know before they arrive. But your collection rate is bound to improve by making your office as payment-friendly as possible.
That being said, there will always be patients who won’t pay. For those cases, give us a call. We can help.