Physicians Practice/Change Healthcare eBook by William Ellis

PATIENT COLLECTIONS

in the Age of HighDeductible Plans

B R O U G H T T O Y O U B Y:

Empowering Patients on HDHPs Improves Your Bottom Line High-deductible health plans are the preferred commercial insurance offerings and practices have to prepare patients for this reality. BY ERIC ARNSON

e are reaching the end both to employer-sponsored and individuallyof an era; an era where purchased plans. A HDHP is defined as havhealthcare networks ing an individual annual deductible of at least like Health Maintenance $1,300, and/or a family annual deductible of Organizations (HMOs) at least $2,600. However, HDHPs may range and Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) from these minimums, which carry relativelywere the norm. high premiums, up Patients paid their to several-thousandPatient responsibility accounts insurance premiums dollars deductibles, for a growing percentage of a and assumed their and have lower only additional costs practice’s accounts receivable, premiums. would be their copay. While insurance and that number can be even Physicians accepted carriers benefit whatever reimbursehigher in the early part of the from reduced finanment the insurance year as many plan deductibles cial risk, providers company would pay, reset in January. and patients strugoften choosing to gle to adapt to this write off remaining environment. Patient responsibility accounts patient balances since they were just too timefor a growing percentage of a practice’s consuming to try to collect. This system worked accounts receivable, and that number can fine until healthcare costs soared and it became necessary to share financial risk among the be even higher in the early part of the year payer, the provider , and the patient. as many plan deductibles reset in January. Providers that don’t take action into addressTHE NEW REALITY ing this problem are putting their practice High -deductible health plans (HDHPs) are the preferred commercial insurance offerings, revenue at risk.

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OCTOBER 2017

KNOW WHAT THEY OWE

Many patients with HDHPs don’t understand how their plans work because they haven’t adjusted to the new paradigm of taking on the majority of the “downside risk” that insurance companies historically carried with traditional plans. We’ve all overheard friends’ and coworkers’ misconceptions of their plan design, or their bill-shock once they realize that for the first $1,300, or more, depending on the plan, they are responsible for paying all expenses themselves. Price transparency is becoming increasingly important as we usher in the new era of healthcare consumerism. As members seek higher quality affordable care, many provider offices that have yet to embrace a price transparency policy may lose current or potential new patients. Cost-of-treatment conversations are often hampered, not for competitive or proprietary reasons, but because the provider’s office lacks the capacity to reflect the member’s specific benefits and plan-negotiated price discounts. But when it comes to understanding what patients owe, providers can no longer afford to be left in the dark. TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP

Fortunately, providers have access to simple financial clearance tools that help both them and their patients understand what is owed. It also helps providers begin the conversation with their patients. One of these tools is a patient responsibility estimator, which provides accurate and timely estimates of a patient’s financial responsibility based on their insurance plan and benefits. Providers can print a copy of the estimate and share with their patients either before their appointment, or at the time of service. Doing so empowers patients by helping them prepare ahead of time to determine the best method of payment. It also

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increases the likelihood that the provider will be paid faster and in full. Unlike hospital financial clearance solutions, which can take many months and thousands of dollars to implement, practices can take advantage of smaller-scale solutions that are quick to install and fit seamlessly with their practice management systems. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Consider this: With the percentage of a provider’s revenue coming directly from patients expected to increase by 50 percent in the next three years, according to JAMA, it’s easy to see how important it is to help educate patients about their payment responsibility. It begins with communication. Providers need to: • Educate staff and practitioners about the new reality of HDHPs and how they impact the health of the practice • Provide accurate estimates to patients, either prior to the appointment or at the time of service, to help them understand what they will owe, beyond just copays and deductibles • Utilize technology by implementing a patient financial clearance solution that fits within existing workflows and integrates with the existing practice management system. Healthcare consumers will eventually adapt and respond to the new HDHP paradigm by becoming more educated on how their insurance works. Once enlightened, informed consumers will take a proactive role not only in their choice of treatment they wish to receive, but also in where to receive treatment. Providers can begin today preparing for this new reality. The health of their practice depends on it. Eric Arnson is senior vice president and general manager at Change Healthcare.

OCTOBER 2017

Four Technologies You Should Be Using in Your Practice Don’t work harder, work smarter. Technology can ease your most pressing revenue cycle and work flow concerns. BY ERICA SPREY

hysicians and their practices are to facilitate patient check-in and registration (a becoming pretty comfortable us2-percent increase over 2015). While small, this ing technology, according to the number is significant given the fact that every data from Physicians Practice’s dollar counts in medical practices, especially so 2016 Technolfor the smaller groups. ogy Survey, which features In fact, when asked When asked, “What 1,568 respondents from “What is your most across the country. Apart pressing information is your most pressing from EHRs, which have technology problem?” information technology made significant inroads into after citing EHR-related independent medical pracproblems, 8 percent problem?” after citing tice, there are a plethora of of survey respondents EHR-related problems, other technologies that can said, “Costs to purchase make a physician’s life just a and implement other 8 percent of survey little bit easier and are intechnologies.” respondents said, creasingly being adopted into In this regard, solo “Costs to purchase their practices. physician or two-doc Not surprising, a clear mapractices are less likely and implement jority (78 percent) of practo purchase and use other technologies. ” tices say they use billing and new technologies, coding software. Far more according to consulinteresting, from our perspectant Laurie Morgan of tive, is that roughly a third of respondents say California-based practice-management firm they use technology to conduct data analytics Capko & Morgan, yet paradoxically, she says (33 percent) and manage their revenue cycle they are the ones that stand to gain the most (29.4 percent), and 16 percent use technology help from technology.

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OCTOBER 2017

“I think that smaller practices in my experior all of those functions to outside vendors. “But at the end of the day… RCM is there to ence have been reluctant to look at some help you collect your dollars,” Furr says. “The of these tools, partly because if they have revenue cycle is the ability to capture dollars looked in the past they have found that it just quickly and efficiently, and that is both insurisn’t available for the platforms they are usance payments but also patient payments.” ing, or maybe they thought it was it was too That’s why, he says, new high-deductible expensive,” she says. “But actually they can health insurance plans are becoming a game benefit from it so enormously because they changer when it comes to spurring efforts to have smaller teams and everyone is trying collect patient payments effectively. to do multiple jobs, so this technology can Jeff Wood, vice president of product manactually help a smaller practice even more, agement for Navicure, a Duluth, Ga.-based potentially, than a larger one.” RCM software comIn an industry overpany, agrees. Because whelmed by governuptake of new high-deNew high-deductible ment mandates, using ductible plans has been front-office technolhealth insurance plans are relative slow, practices ogy to help with data becoming a game changer are just now feeling the reporting just makes pinch when it comes sense. And according when it comes to spurring to collecting growing to experts, the return efforts to collect patient patient financial responon investment may sibilities, he says. Wood be greater than docs payments effectively. uses the metaphor of think. If you are wonthe frog sitting in a pot dering which technoloof slowly heating water, gies would help your noting that “… the [amount of patient finanpractice most, here are four that our experts cial responsibility] has increased every year say you should consider: and then all of a sudden the water is boiling, REVENUE CYCLE MANAGEMENT and [practices] say, ‘Wait a minute! I really The 2016 Physicians Practice Technology have to do something about the patient [colSurvey indicates that 30 percent of responlection] side of things.’” dents use some type of revenue cycle manAside from tightening up collection policies agement (RCM) software in their practices. and procedures, physicians can look to techTom Furr, chief executive officer at Patient nology to assist them in collecting patient Pay, a payment software company based in copays and deductibles. There are several Durham, N.C., points out that RCM can mean tech vendors that can provide electronic paymany things to different people. The term ment and collection services to practices and can encompass patient insurance eligibility their patients, and in some cases, eliminate verification, medical billing, claims processthe need to send paper billing statements. ing and follow up, and both payer and patient Another bonus stemming from the use of an collections, typically using some type of online payment solution is patient satisfacbilling software and a practice management tion: Both Wood and Furr say that patients system. Practices can also outsource some are increasingly paying for services online

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OCTOBER 2017

and they want the same convenience from their medical providers.

software will provide physicians and administrators with a dashboard of financial metrics that can be customized to meet the needs DATA ANALYTICS of the individual practice. “It is a visual repThirty-three percent of respondents in the resentation of a whole bunch of data. It is 2016 Physicians Practice Technology Survey very easy to understand. You can look at one use some type of data analytics in their pracpage and get six, eight, or 10 different data tices. Good data analytic capabilities can be points of interest that the doctor or the head the lifeblood of a practice, Furr says. “It’s just of the practice would like to see.” The utillike financial information that you get from ity of a dashboard that displays key practice your bookkeeper,” he notes. metrics at a glance is “’How much cash do we that busy physicians can In small practices, have in the bank? How much see where their paydo we need to collect?’ All tracking patient ments are coming from these basic data elements. and how long they take cost-sharing amounts It’s important in the RCM come in. In Parker’s space to kind of understand can be absolutely vital, to case, knowing which of who’s paying, who’s not payespecially given the his patients will not be ing, how quickly are you being growing predominance required to pay a copay paid, and what’s the preferred at the office visit could method for being paid.” of high-deductible give him the ability to In small practices, tracking make changes to his health plans that patient cost-sharing amounts payer mix, for example, shift a greater can be absolutely vital, espeor adjust the types and cially given the growing prepercentage of numbers of patient visits dominance of high-deductible he schedules in a day. costs to patients. health plans that shift a POS PAYMENT greater percentage of costs TECHNOLOGY to patients. Matthew Parker The 2016 Physicians Practice Technology Sura family medicine physician who owns a solo vey revealed that 26 percent of respondents practice in Birmingham, Ala., says oftentimes use some type of point-of-sale (POS) payment he is essentially seeing patients for free, as terminal to collect patient copays and deducthe waits for payer reimbursement. “Pracibles at the time of service. Studies show tices traditionally have relied on the copays that the rate of successfully collecting patient to buy supplies and make payroll occasioncoinsurance drops precipitously once patients ally, and things like that,” he says. And that is leave your practice, according to a 2013 study where the rub is for Parker: “I will say this … by Greenway Health. Mary Pat Whaley, a about the high deductibles — that has been Durham, N.C.-based practice management a real challenge. And there are so many zero consultant, says not collecting at the time of dollar copays now. It’s strangling us.” service can bring a host of problems. “To me, That’s where data analytics can give a the worst thing [a practice can] say is ‘Oh don’t practice much more power over its revenue worry about it, we’ll send you a bill after your cycle. Furr says business intelligence (BI) insurance pays.’ I think the patient has a right

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OCTOBER 2017

to know what to expect, and if they are not exgreat potential to streamline front-office work pecting to pay the full freight at the office visit, flow through self-service technology, says they may be really shocked,” she says. Morgan. “The whole benefit of these systems The proliferation of high-deductible health is eliminating extra work that the front-desk insurance plans is putting an even greater person would normally have to do, and also burden on practices as they struggle to collect improving the accuracy of the [patient] inmuch larger patient balances, and in some formation,” she says, “… Patients enter the cases, explain to new patients what insurance information directly and it goes right into the terms (copays, deductibles, co-insurance, [EHR/PM] system.” There is a range of regetc.) mean and why they have significant istration technology that is available to pracpayment responsibilities. Patient collectibles tices: kiosks, tablets, and even patient portals. used to make up 5 Morgan says that percent to 10 percent slow adoption is likely “The whole benefit of these [pa- tied to compatibility of the physician’s fee, says Whaley, issues with existing tient self-service] systems is with insurance being practice PM and/or eliminating extra work that the responsible for the EHR systems, but remainder. Now that that is slowly changfront-desk person would figure is closer to 30 ing as tablet/kiosk normally have to do, and also percent of the bill. companies continue improving the accuracy of That’s why Whaley’s to add new partners. consulting firm, ManAside from collectthe [patient] information.” age My Practice, ing patient demo–Laurie Morgan, consultant recommends using a graphic and insurance secure credit card on information, tablets file (CCF) solution. CCF technology relies on and kiosks can be used for short patient software that interfaces with a cloud-based satisfaction surveys and also collecting paserver to securely retain patient credit card tient copays at the time of service. Patients information so that practices never have to often don’t fully understand their insurance physically store credit card numbers onsite, benefits, so it is reassuring, says Morgan, for eliminating the risk of theft, fraud, or electronthem to look up their financial responsibility ic data breaches. “The benefits are you don’t on a self-service tool. It divorces the practice have to send out statements, you save staff from what is essentially a contract between time, you don’t have to chase patients to get the patient and insurance company. them to pay, and payment is given upfront or “Many of these systems allow the patient a commitment to payment,” says Whaley. to set up a payment plan too, so they can take some of the anxiety out of [the doctor’s PATIENT REGISTRATION TECHNOLOGY visit] for the patient,” she says. “Definitely A small number of practices (16 percent of staff are getting better at [collections] berespondents in the 2016 Physicians Practice cause they’ve had to, but if there’s an opporTechnology Survey) use some type of patient tunity to make it easier for everybody, why registration technology in their practices. While that number may seem low, there is not take advantage of it.”

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OCTOBER 2017

Revenue Performance Advisor

Improve Your Revenue Cycle Journey

Revenue Performance Advisor is cloud-based and provides simplified yet comprehensive visibility across both patient and payer revenue cycles. With our platform, you can achieve efficiencies in patient financial clearance and collection workflows using real-time eligibility verification, patient payment estimation, and patient payment tools. Our solution offers: •

Payer connectivity for comprehensive eligibility

•

Payment responsibility estimation

•

Claims and denials management

•

Integrated point-of-service collections

•

Visibility through reporting

Together, these features improve your workflow and the patient experience.

Inspiring a Better Healthcare System

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2Revenue Performance Advisor

Achieve Simplicity, Visibility, and Usability in Your Revenue Cycle

“By automating our processes, we get more done and use staff for problem-solving instead of manual tasks.” Christina Hertzberg Riverside Medical Center

Simplicity Achieved

Visibility Improved

Usability Enhanced

Revenue Performance Advisor is designed to simplify the navigation of the changing patient and provider revenue cycle landscapes. Industryleading payer connectivity provides real-time access to easily identify your patients’ coverage, co-pay, co-insurance, deductible, and demographic information. Generate payment estimates that provide your patients with a complete understanding of their responsibility. Revenue Performance Advisor provides multiple payment options, including online and walk-in, combined with integrated digital and print statements to simplify patient collections.

We provide the visibility to easily track claims from submission to adjudication to payment using the largest payer connectivity in the industry. When needed, rejected claims are easily identified, corrected, and resubmitted within assigned work queues, and denied claims are easily appealed with custom appeal letters. Advanced denials management workflows enable tracking of corrected and appealed claims through adjudication.

Your ongoing revenue cycle journeys are empowered with the usability of Revenue Performance Advisor. When using the platform, office staff increase productivity and efficiency in their daily workflow. Office administrators appreciate the increased visibility into tracking and reporting of user performance. Providers appreciate the improved usability in the Performance Dashboard Reporting when tracking financial trends.

About Change Healthcare Change Healthcare is inspiring a better healthcare system. Working alongside our customers and partners, we leverage our software and analytics, network solutions and technology-enabled services to help them improve efficiency, reduce costs, increase cash flow, and more effectively manage complex workflows. Together, we are accelerating the journey toward improved lives and healthier communities. © 2017 Change Healthcare Operations LLC and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

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Patient Collection Strategies that Work for New Plans If your practice is struggling to collect all that it is due from patients, here’s how you can stack the deck in your favor. BY ERICA SPREY

ractices are dealing with increasing numbers of patients with high-deductible health plans, requiring them to collect larger patient balances from patients — some of whom are likely struggling to pay for healthcare. Jeff Wood, vice president of product management for Duluth, Ga.-based, revenue cycle management company Navicure, says this change has been a jolt to many practices. “What we’ve seen in the last decade or so is a real shift from the payer side in terms of reimbursement to the patient side … You could count on a practice seeing about 10 percent to 15 percent of revenue coming from individual patients, now over 30 percent or almost a third of revenue is coming from individual patients,” he notes. This sea change means practices must reexamine their billing and collection processes and even reconsider basic practice policies, such as when to send a patient account to an external collection agency for nonpayment. It also means the triangulation between the physician, the insurance company, and the patient has taken on a new dynamic. No longer can practices expect their revenue stream to flow largely through payers. They must give patient collections equal attention.

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A NEW ANIMAL

The healthcare insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act are now in their third year. Despite an initially slow rollout, 12.7 million Americans have purchased health insurance through the federal or state healthcare exchanges as of Feb. 1, 2016, according to data released by CMS. For some patients, this is the first time that they have ever had health insurance coverage; so terms like deductibles, copays, and coinsurance are essentially meaningless. That puts the burden for patient education on already overwhelmed practice staff. And consider for example, a Bronze plan (which typically carries the lowest premiums, yet highest out-of-pocket costs) purchased through the healthcare exchange could come with an annual deductible of more than $6,500 for a single individual. That could be a princely sum for low- or middle-income patients, and sometimes it’s completely unexpected. Mary Pat Whaley, president of consulting firm Manage My Practice, based in Durham, N.C., calls high-deductible plans “first dollar plans, because the first dollar that you spend after Jan. 1 applies to the deductible,” she says. “So people getting medications in some cases, people going in for the flu to

OCTOBER 2017

primary-care doctors, who never had any of those types of things apply to their deductibles, suddenly do.” A scenario like this, handled awkwardly, could mean angry patients and stressedout practice staff. So how can your practice approach these delicate negotiations, while preserving the doctor-patient relationship and ensuring that practice revenue flow is not negatively affected? Practice management experts advise practices to establish clear policies that govern how both patients and staff will approach the collection and payment of patient financial responsibilities, like copays and deductibles. COLLECTION BASICS

The Woodlands, Texas-based practice management consultant Owen Dahl says any collection strategy should start with the basics, whether it is for a high-deductible plan or not. “I think it is very important that a practice have a financial policy,” he says. “I think you should have a financial policy posted on the website, posted in other places [around the practice], that basically explains to the patient that they have an obligation to pay [their portion of their bill].” Dahl says by creating an expectation of payment on the part of the patient, upfront, practices should be able to establish a clear payment procedure that goes a long way in eliminating stress for both patients and practice staff. Another important document that practices should have is a collections policy (not to be confused with the financial policy). The collections policy is essentially a way of formalizing the physician’s instructions to staff on how and when they should collect payment from patients. If decision making is left up to whoever is sitting at the reception desk on any given day, you will have inconsistent collection practices and could waste significant

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staff time seeking guidance from the physician or practice manager, says Dahl. Many practices are small enough that they don’t formalize financial or collection policies. But that could be a handicap when it comes to maximizing revenue. Matthew Parker is a family physician practicing in Birmingham, Ala. His practice, Heritage Medicine, consists of himself and a small, part-time staff that he says is often overwhelmed with administrative duties. Parker says that his staff will verify patient insurance eligibility, collect copays, and inform patients of their unmet deductibles prior to the physician visit, but often they do not collect the whole patient responsibility. “We don’t require full payment for [patients] to come in, because most people are not really prepared to do that. I wouldn’t be. And so, I guess we probably are too heavy on the relationship and too light on the economics,” he says. “But I’ve always felt very awkward sort of poisoning the environment with that discussion right before they come in and tell me something really sensitive.” COLLECTION ASSISTS

Many physicians, like Parker, do feel conflicted mixing medical care with patient financial discussions. That’s why it is so important to create guidelines and provide support for staff that will make collecting patient accounts a matter of course. Here is a short list of tools that your practice won’t want to be without: Financial transparency One of the most important things a practice can do, says Dahl, is set up an expectation of payment. Letting patients know upfront that your practice expects payment at the time of service or a commitment to pay, not only shows your patients that you respect them, but empowers staff to do their job without feeling bad. It isn’t enough to create a financial policy for patients — your staff must

OCTOBER 2017

display that information prominently around the practice and also make it available to new patients. And rather than “sticker-shock” patients who may not realize their deductible is greater than they thought, make sure to inform them upfront about your expected fees. “I think having a level of transparency [is best],” says Wood, “If you are going to be collecting from patients you need to give them more information than they’ve had in the past. So the ability to use care estimation software or other ways to manually research that if necessary … you really need to be able to provide some form of estimate so that patients know what they are on the hook for…” Staff scripts Aside from dedicating a private area of the practice where staff can have confidential financial discussions with patients, one of the most important things a practice can do is create “collection scripts” for its staff members, says Wood. “If you are making these changes where you are going to be a little more upfront in terms of requesting some form of payment or a commitment to payment, make sure that the staff knows exactly what they should say,” Wood advises. He goes on to note that staff should not be embarrassed or nervous about asking a patient to pay his portion of the physician’s bill. Despite greater and more variable costs, you as the physician are providing a service, and like most other industries, payment or a commitment to a payment plan is expected at the time of service. Insurance eligibility and estimation tools It is critical for practices to conduct insurance eligibility checks prior to the patient visit, says Wood. Gone are the days that your front-desk staff can simply ask for the copay on the front of the insurance card and consider their job

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done. And because high-deductible plans can kick in with the “first dollar,” staff should provide patients with a financial estimate of care so that there are no ugly surprises. Wood says that conversation should go something like, “I see you have $200 of your deductible remaining and this procedure is going to be $300 for a mole excision … so [you’ll have to pay] $200 plus the 20 percent copay. Therefore, we expect $220 payment.” Point-of-care payment systems As more patients are saddled with higher deductibles and copayments it is more important than ever that practices collect patient payments at the point of care. One way to do this is to have credit card scanners or check readers at the front desk, so payment is instantaneous. Parker says his practice is open to just about any type of payment and is even thinking about adopting Square, a payment technology that works with Apple devices. There is also payment technology that is paired with a patient portal, says Wood. Credit card on file Another secure payment technology that is catching on is the credit card on file system (CCF). Whaley says there are multiple advantages to using this type of system. There is the ability to securely store credit card information in an encrypted format offsite; the ability to automatically charge the credit card once the insurance has paid its share; and eliminating the need to send paper billing statements. It is also kinder to patients because the practice has already discussed payment upfront. “I think it puts physicians in the same place as other businesses to actually say, ‘These are our payment policies,’ as opposed to, ‘We’ll send you a statement and you can take as long as you want to pay us,’” Whaley says.

OCTOBER 2017

Tech Tools to Boost Patient Collections Use the technology your practice likely already has to improve your patient collection rate. BY JANET COLWELL

ith the proliferation of highdeductible health plans under the Affordable Care Act, patient payments have become a bigger chunk of many practices’ revenue. As a result, experts say physicians should be developing more sophisticated collection strategies that take advantage of technology to help get money in the door. Used effectively, technology can help smaller practices stay on top of patients’ coverage and financial responsibilities under the new high-deductible plans, as they may be new to both practice and patient. Many newly insured patients are unaware of the servicelevel details of their policies. So it’s important to give your staff readily available information about coverage, balances, and answers to frequently asked questions. Technology can help you streamline processes at the front desk to facilitate collection at time of service, provided that you invest in staff training, said Colleen Fusetti, a director at FluidEdge Consulting in Malvern, Pa. “You need to put a lot of emphasis on training staff to use the technology and understand patient balances and payment options so that they, in turn, can educate the patient,” she said. “The ability to collect drops considerably after the patient walks away from the front desk.” Fusetti and other revenue cycle management experts also offered these tips for getting the most out of your technology tools to improve patient collections: 13

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• Set up a patient portal. The portal allows patients to check their eligibility and claims data and view or pay their balances online. • Integrate an insurance eligibility service into your practice management and EHR systems. Some services allow you to run a verification check on every patient scheduled for a visit over the next few days so that you can reach out to patients in advance to get new insurance information, if needed. • Use an automated appointment reminder service. The services not only remind patients about upcoming appointments but also link patients to the portal where they can see any pending balances, make payments, and review their coverage before arriving. • Consider online credit card processing. You can accept credit or debit card payments from any Internet-enabled device linked to a mobile card swiper. • Set up automatic payments. Many merchant service companies offer an option to keep patients’ credit card information on file securely. After discussing financial responsibility for a future procedure or service, patients can decide whether to authorize a one-time payment pending final calculation of their bill or set up a payment plan with recurring payments. • Take advantage of online resources. The AMA offers a Point-of-Care Pricing Toolkit free to its members. The resource provides tools to help practices collect what patients owe at the time of service. OCTOBER 2017

Improve Efficiency: 4 Easy Tips to Simplify Your Job A boring day at the office? There's no such thing. Trying to manage a practice while keeping patients, staff, and physicians happy is hard work. Your team is juggling a lot: • Calling insurance companies to check eligibility

• Collecting patient payments at the time of service

• Educating patients on what they owe

• And researching rejected and denied claims.

You need all the help you can get. We have four easy tips for you.

Pre-Visit

1 Automate Eligibility and Benefits Verification Are you still spending precious time communicating with insurance companies to find the latest information on patient eligibility? Easy-to-use technology can streamline the entire process by enabling you to check eligibility in real-time, either when scheduling the appointment or when the patient is in the office. Or you can schedule batch checks to run overnight, giving you the accurate information you need for the next day’s roster.

Average Cost

14.92 A Claim

$ 14

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¢ For An Eligibility

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OCTOBER 2017

Point of Service

Educate Patients On Full Payment Responsibility With the increase in high-deductible health plans, it’s essential to educate your patients on what they owe in full. Patient responsibility estimation tools are now available to help. These tools provide you with an accurate estimate of what your patient’s insurer will cover and what portion is due from the patient. By sharing the estimate with your patients, you’ll help them make more informed decisions, improve the patient experience, and remove potential “sticker shock.”

57% of consumers said they would be more willing to return to a healthcare provider for future services if they were given billing estimates at the point of service.

57%

3 Make It Easier For Patients To Pay How much time does your staff spend on patient collections? You can facilitate faster payments and reduce your cost to collect by making it easy for patients to pay. Research shows half of Americans prefer paying online, so offering this option is a must. Others may opt to pay over the phone using interactive voice technology or to pay via check through the mail. The key is to offer multiple options so you can capture payments faster. Think your practice can't afford the technology? You be surprised to see how investing upfront can increase revenue 15may SPONSORED BY

and cash flow while offsetting your back-end collections costs.

OCTOBER 2017

ate on agedThe receivables recovery rate on aged receivables 3 percent for hospitals was a mere 15.3 percent for hospitals 21.8% 21.8% nt for practices. When and 21.8 percent for practices. When es the entire the balance, patient owes the entire balance, ven greater. the impact is even greater.

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uick and easy resubmission. Yand our denials provide real-time editing for quick easy resubmission. Your denials

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Talk To Us

e Road to Getting ed.). 1. Keegan, N.p.: Medical Group D. W ., Paid & Woodcock, 1. Keegan, D. W.,Paid & Woodcock,(3rd E. W. (2015). The Physician Billing Process. Navigating Potholes on the Road to Getting (3rd ed.). N.p.: Medical Group Management Association. Management Association.

S P O 2. N Shttp://www.transunioninsights.com/healthcarecostsurvey/ ORED BY OCTOBER 2017 2. http://www.transunioninsights.co 3. 3. How Americans Pay Their Bills, ACI Worldwide, 1/24/17 How

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4. http://www.acainternational.org 4. http://www.acainternational.org/advocacy/industry-research-statistics