By CHRISTINE UMBRELL
Cost-Effective Collections Tips for updating financial policies and processes to ensure faster payments and more reliable income
M
OST HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS
NEED TO KNOW • Given escalating healthcare costs and a rise in provider bankruptcies, now is the time for facilities to re-examine their billing and collection practices. • Some facilities are setting the expectation that a copay is due at the time of visit and requiring that a credit card be kept on file for future balances. • Whether adopting new billing software or just revamping existing procedures, it’s important to work closely with staff members and patients to explain new policies. • To ensure a smooth transition to new collections procedures, O&P facilities should offer flexibility in how visitors pay their bills—including accepting payments online. • When accepting credit card data, facilities must remain in compliance with rules set forth by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards.
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OCTOBER 2020 | O&P ALMANAC
see their primary goal as helping patients get well—or, in the case of O&P clinicians, helping patients improve mobility and return to activities. But healthcare providers are being forced to focus on their bottom lines as facilities become increasingly dependent on out-of-pocket payments from consumers while the U.S. economy continues to struggle. “As the healthcare industry is changing, it’s forcing providers to not only be empathetic to patients’ needs, but also to collect, because patients now have higher-deductible plans, or they can’t afford insurance—let alone pay for the equipment or the materials they’re getting,” says Jennifer Leon, Jennifer Leon vice president of Brightree’s Patient Collections Divisions and a speaker at AOPA’s Virtual National Assembly in September. In addition, many O&P facilities continue to use outdated collections processes that rely heavily on paper—while many of their patients have adopted new technologies and online bill payment methods at home. Eighty-three percent of consumers prefer electronic methods for medical bills, according to the 2019 InstaMed Consumer Healthcare
