The ABC’s of Healthcare – not what you’d expect
There are new “ABC’s” in healthcare —admitting, billing, and collecting. Carrington Health Center has always maintained a patient-centered focus. But the number of self-pay accounts has steadily increased with more and more Americans are uninsured or underinsured, and more patients face increased cost-sharing with their health plans.
To receive full payment for services, many healthcare providers are establishing patients’ financial obligations and collecting appropriate payments before rather than after the services have been rendered. CHC recognizes this national trend, and recently held a “work-out session” with the entire Business Office to lay out the details of up-front collections, focused on the billing cycle. By supporting and training Admissions staff to collect the right information as patients register, back-office employees will chase fewer rejected claims.
Carrington Health Center will begin “up-front collections” by the end of May, 2009 for the Emergency Department, with the balance of the patient mix added by late summer. Health care and services will continue to be provided as always, with the addition of financial counseling and frank (and confidential) discussion on patients’ ability to pay.
Emergency Room services can not and will not be denied to anyone because of a true or perceived inability to pay: that’s the law. But emergency room nursing staff who perform a basic Admission function after hours and on weekends will be collecting a co-pay or deductible payment after the service is rendered.
The CHC Admissions staff is being trained to address payment topics during the pre-admission process, beginning with the expected cost of treatment. Depending upon the patient’s insurance coverage, the co pay and out-of-pocket expense will be determined, along with the payment that insurance will contribute directly to CHC. This will take the financial worry out of the healthcare equation and let the patient concentrate on being well again.
Carrington Health Center is blessed with dedicated staff in every department. CHC Admissions staff is very sensitive to the patients’ needs and cares deeply about the patients and about our reputation in the community. Up-front collections involve an emphasis on revenues intended to make the painful situation of a bill as painless as possible.
As more individuals struggle with troubling economic realities, CHC has found that many people are uninsured or underinsured. This has increased bad debt and paperwork, driving healthcare costs higher. CHC encourages patients to apply for financial assistance rather than experience and increase in bad debt. Through the Payment Options and Financial Assistance Program, CHC can help arrange flexible payment options that make meeting financial obligations easier. Many times, Financial Assistance will cover 100% of hospital charges.
Playing banker is not a role that not-for-profit hospitals relish, yet there is little choice. “It’s starting to put us in a position we don’t want to be in – the collections business,” said Teresa Theis, Business Office Manager at CHC.
Insurance has changed and Theis also says that the early calls save patients from being blind-sided by unexpected bills, and this helps them budget. CHC stresses that there is no obligation to pre-pay, nor will care be withheld from those who cannot afford it.
