Using
paper, make sure your sentences are simple, direct, and patient-friendly. These
attributes contribute to fewer patient inquiries and greater collections. Paper
statements should be designed with full-color printing, practice branding, a
top-line summary in a large typeface, a customized detail space, statement
supporters, and more.
The
global delivery model saves clients money and time by swiftly and effectively
paying your patients. Services for creating patient statements include:
· Printing and mailing options
· Processing of statements
· Patient statements printed
· Statement mailing
· Patient-friendly billing: A reputable statement processing company will collaborate with you to produce
patient-friendly, simple-to-understand statements
· Implementation of patient portals: A reputable
business will allow you to take patient payments via the patient portal using a
credit card
· Answering patient questions: Additionally, we may
assist with any phone calls the patients may make to you regarding their
invoices
Five suggestions for patient
statements
1. Please do not postpone
sending statements
There
is no justification for delaying the mailing of a printed statement. It would
help if you didn't hold off on sending statements for more than a day.
A successful collection becomes less likely
with time. After 90 days, delinquent accounts typically lose half a percentage
point every day.
Your
practice should prepare to deliver a statement in the following batch as soon
as a patient accrues a debt.
2. Always
Deliver Remarks for cost-effective amounts
Consider
establishing a limit for the issuance of printed statements. From now on, only
create statements for balances higher than the chosen sum. Also, consider the
expense of creating, printing, and mailing the statement. After reading this,
you will better understand the point at which a balance justifies sending a
statement.
Another
potential option to reduce costs is through family billing. By combining family
members on one statement, your practice may lower statement costs. If you want
to go this way, schedule the generation of statements such that everyone in the
family is included in one statement. Depending on your patient base, you can
decide whether or not this option is practical for your clinic.
3. Understand
what to include
Statement
processing should include
information to make it simpler for patients to pay in addition to the usual
information on any letter, such as your practice's name, address, and phone
number. It could comprise:
· The due date for payment
· the URL of the website where a patient may make an
online payment
· a space for patients to fill up their payment card
details so that the office may process them
· a phone number that patients can call with any
billing-related inquiries
Finally,
disclosure statement processing is required if you
calculate financing costs. The Truth in Lending Act mandates that disclosure of
financial costs is necessary.
4. Remove
unclear terms from the statement
It
would be best to make sense of the information; statement processing
can be challenging. According to Instamed, 70% of patients are perplexed by the
details on their medical bills.
Do
not mention "balance aging" in statements to make them simpler for
patients to read. If a balance is not in the last aging bucket, some patients
perceive this as suggesting they have more time to pay.
5. Choose
to use electronic statements
Many
patients prefer to get their statements electronically. According to the
Instamed research,
77 percent of respondents said they would want to sign up for e-statements.
E-statements
can also be advantageous for practices. Sending electronic statements saves
money on paper statement costs and frequently results in faster payment,
freeing up staff time for other projects.
Because
healthcare data is so valuable, cybersecurity dangers are significant. There
are many different electronic solutions. Along with statement processing,
these include SMS billing, storing credit cards on file, and e-payments.
Remember the value of a secure payment site while you investigate these
possibilities.
Three collection challenges
you might face for the statement-sending procedure
Now
that you know how to optimize your statement-sending procedure, let's look at
some typical collecting issues. Understanding these difficulties and the best
solutions to address them can make your clinic's collections process go more
smoothly.
1. Time-consuming and pricey
collections
Most
collection procedures have experienced expensive slowdowns. A patient with a
significant amount could pay slowly or not at all. At the same time, providing
statements for modest balances skirts the cost-effectiveness line. Then there
is bad debt, which a collection agency can only collect for cents on the
dollar.
2. Failure
to address and manage issues
Practices
should be ready if they want to collect during service. A health IT outcomes study based
on data from the Medical Group
Management Association (MGMA) claims that 30% of patients leave the building
without paying the bill.
You
might be hesitant to approach patients for previous unpaid amounts for a
variety of reasons. You may have known the patient for a long time, or your
office may cater to a small town or neighborhood. Even the collection procedure
may need to be improved.
Pay
attention to these red flags that a patient may be behind on payments:
· Calls and remarks go unanswered
· Return of the statement as undeliverable
· Received a partial or no payment at all, violating
the payment plan agreement
· Asking for modifications to the payment schedule or
reduced payments
· Justifications for being unable to pay
· Patient skipping appointments
3. Rise in
healthcare insurance prices and unemployment
Healthcare
is becoming more expensive. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services anticipated national health care spending to surpass $3.81 trillion in 2019
and will likely surpass $4 trillion in 2020. While this is happening, balance
write-offs increase.
By
sticking to the following best practices of statement processing,
your clinic can provide patients with payment plan choices or early payment
discounts:
· Create payment and discount policies that are
precise and well-defined
· Offer them to all patients equally
· This results in rising insurance costs and
out-of-pocket payments for businesses and employees. Working with the patient
directly through these methods is preferable to using claims court or
collection agencies
What's
the bottom line?
The
federal statute governing third-party collection firms is the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Inform the front desk employees about the
rules for medical billing that apply in your state. Keep in mind that medical
costs are regarded as a signed contract and are not refundable. For further
details on statement processing, printing, and mailing requirements,
consider consulting
with L & D Mail Masters.