In the healthcare industry, it’s critical to get paid for the services you provide. However, this can be a challenge, especially if you’re using traditional billing methods. Fortunately, there are ways to accelerate healthcare collections in billing services. By using technology, automating processes, and outsourcing, you can improve your chances of getting paid quickly and efficiently.
In this blog post, we’ll explore how to accelerate healthcare collections’ in-house billing services. We’ll cover topics such as using technology, automating processes, and outsourcing. By the end of this post, you’ll have a better understanding of how to get paid quickly and efficiently in the healthcare industry.
The current state of healthcare billing collections
According to a study by the American Hospital Association, the average hospital spends 3.5% of its operating budget on collections.
The current state of healthcare collections is one of inefficiency and high costs. Hospitals are struggling to keep up with the ever-growing list of patients with unpaid medical bills. The problem is compounded by the fact that many patients are unable to pay their medical bills in full.
One way to reduce the cost of collections is to use third-party collection agencies. However, these agencies often take a large percentage of the total bill, which can eat into a hospital’s already slim profit margins.
Another way to increase efficiency and lower costs is to automate the collections process with technology like patient financial engagement services. This type of service can help hospitals streamline their billing and collections processes, making it easier for patients to understand their bills and make payments.
Automating collections can also help hospitals save money on staff salaries and benefits. By using services to handle some of the grunt work of collections, hospitals can free up staff time to focus on more important tasks like patient care.
Technology like patient financial engagement services is changing the healthcare collections landscape. By automating some of the tasks involved in collections, hospitals can save money and improve efficiency.
The importance of healthcare billing collections
The importance of healthcare collections cannot be understated. Without proper collections, many healthcare organisations would be unable to continue operating. In order to ensure that your organisation is able to collect its bills, it is important to work with a billing service that has experience in the healthcare industry.
A good billing service will have a strong understanding of the collection process and will be able to work with you to develop a plan that fits the unique needs of your organisation. They will also be familiar with the various laws and regulations surrounding collections, which can save you a lot of time and hassle.
In the US, it’s important for each patient to be eligible for their procedure before having it performed. Methods like manual verification take an extensive amount of time, with an average cost per person of $6.83. Outsourcing DME billing uses cutting-edge electronic verification tools to process lots of data in seconds to save practices an hour on every 30 patients they check.
Working with an experienced billing service is the best way to ensure that your organization is able to collect its bills in a timely and efficient manner.
Challenges of the conventional methods of healthcare collection
Podiatry Billing and collecting the old-fashioned way is time-consuming and hence expensive. In an emergency room visit, 25% of the revenue is spent on billing, according to research by Harvard and Duke scholars, as reported in Modern Healthcare. Billing and subsequent collection procedures eat away at earnings. If medical facilities turn over delinquent bills to a collection agency, patients may be subjected to aggressive techniques, and the facilities will have to pay a portion of the money recovered from the accounts as their fee.
The alternative of filing a lawsuit to recover the debt is likewise fraught with difficulties. According to Modern Healthcare, a safety-net hospital in Tennessee came under fire after it was discovered that it had filed over 8,300 lawsuits against patients, leading to income garnishments for many of them. The negative effects of lawsuits and wage garnishments on patients of Mary Washington Healthcare were also examined in a 2019 NPR story. Virginia-based healthcare providers announced they would temporarily halt legal action against patients who had not paid their bills, pending the outcome of an internal review.
Credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion issued a joint statement shortly after the report came out, announcing that they would be updating their policies regarding the reporting of medical debt. As of July 1, 2022, credit reports from those three agencies will no longer include information about medical bills that have been paid in full. In order to be reported, unpaid bills must have gone unresolved for at least a year. In addition, the businesses have declared that beginning in July 2023, they will exclude information provided to them for medical bills in collection with balances of $500 or less.
The benefits of accelerated healthcare collections
There are many benefits to accelerated healthcare billing collections. Perhaps the most obvious benefit is that it can help reduce the overall amount of money that a healthcare provider has to spend on collections. This is because when collection efforts are accelerated, more money is collected more quickly, which means that less money is spent on things like interest and late fees. Additionally, accelerated collections can also help to improve a provider’s cash flow, as well as their overall financial health.
Another benefit of accelerated collections is that they can help to improve the quality of care that patients receive. This is because when providers have a better handle on their finances, they are able to invest more in things like new technology and training for their staff. This, in turn, leads to better care for patients. Additionally, when providers are able to collect payments more quickly, they are less likely to experience financial problems that could lead to them cutting corners or skimping on care in order to save money.
Provide your customers with various payment options to make it easier for them, such as cash, checks, or credit and debit cards. Plus, if you take health savings cards, you’ll have a better chance of collecting a larger percentage of payments from your patients. You can also get card swipe readers which will make debit and credit card transactions quick and easy without any difficulty. The medical billing process also provides payment processing tools that can be utilized to speed up financial support.
Overall, there are many benefits of accelerated healthcare collections. From reducing expenses and improving cash flow to improving the quality of care that patients receive, providers who implement an accelerated collections strategy can see real benefits for their practice or facility.
A guide to accelerating patient payments without increasing collection costs
A guide in order to accelerate collections in healthcare billing services, it is important to take a number of steps.
- It is important to ensure that invoices are sent out as soon as possible after services are rendered. Medical recovery services will help to ensure that payments are received in a timely manner.
- It is essential to follow up with patients who have outstanding balances owed. This may include calling patients or sending collection notices.
- It is crucial to work with insurance companies to make sure that payments are received in a timely manner. Finally, it is important to keep accurate records of all payments made and outstanding balances owed.
Outsource medical solutions increase revenue in healthcare organisations
When it comes to healthcare collections, time is of the essence. The sooner you can collect outstanding invoices, the better off your organisation will be. However, many healthcare organisations find themselves bogged down by the collections process, which can take away from other important tasks.
One way to ease the burden of collections while still maintaining a high rate of success is to outsource medical solutions. By working with a third-party company that specializes in healthcare collections, you can focus on other areas of your business while still ensuring that your bills are paid in a timely manner.
There are many benefits to outsourcing medical solutions
- Increased revenue. When you outsource medical solutions, you free up time and resources that can be better used to generate revenue for your organisation. In addition, by working with a company that specializes in healthcare collections, you can maximize your chances of collecting outstanding invoices.
- Improved cash flow. One of the main goals of outsourcing podiatry medical billing is to improve cash flow within your organization. By collecting outstanding invoices in a timely manner, you can ensure that your organisation has the funds it needs to operate smoothly.
- Reduced costs. Medical Recovery Services can also help reduce costs associated with the collections process. By working with a third-party company, you eliminate the need for internal staff dedicated to collections, which can save your organisation money.
Trendspotting: price transparency
All US hospitals must comply with CMS’ price transparency guideline, which requires hospitals to offer clear, accessible cost estimates online for at least 300 different shoppable services by January 1, 2021. Many healthcare institutions have stated that a variety of obstacles make meeting this rule challenging. In this perception research, KLAS interviewed 66 revenue cycle leaders to learn how hospitals are responding to the regulation and their future plans around price transparency. KLAS plans to continue measuring and providing insights into the consumerisation of healthcare in the future.
A growing number of digital medical billing services are looking to maximize hospital interest by unifying their technology in response to growing demand from customers for simpler, more streamlined methods of making healthcare payments.
The past year has seen a number of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the digital medical billing space. Revenue cycle management firm R1 RCM paid $300 million to purchase patient financial engagement firm Visit Pay at the beginning of May. Cedar, a company in the medical billing space, just paid $450 million to acquire Ooda Health, a competitor in the same space, in order to build a unified platform that will enhance digital billing experiences for patients, doctors, and health plans.
The increased merger and acquisition activity among medical digital billing companies will make them more appealing to health system partners who prefer not to work with many vendors. For instance, Way star will be able to provide its hospital clients with access to both its new personalized patient payment platform and its revenue cycle management platform as a result of this acquisition (which includes tools to speed up insurance claims monitoring).
Isaac Newton is a content writer at Medcare MSO. He holds a current medical billing & coding certification and is a member of the American Academy of Professional Coders.
