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Patients Balances

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jyoung65:
Hello,

It is me again. Can someone please tell me what is the process of  patient balances? How many statements do you send them? How offten do you send them? If no response after you send the statements, what is the next step? Thanks!

DMK:
There will be a lot of opinions on this.

IDEALLY you collect co-pays and deductibles at time of service but there will always be patients to bill.

I try to get my statements out (and I mean IN THE MAIL) on the 1st of the month.  My statements say "due on receipt" because by the time we've billed insurance, insurance responds, and statements are printed, a month has passed.  I have found that we get paid more timely when I get the bills out on the 1st because we have so many state workers who get paid on the 1st.  You may find that the 15th works better as less bills are due in the middle of the month and people generally get paid every 2 weeks. 

Our intake form let the patient know they have ONLY 90 days to pay balances.  Nowadays nobody cares when they pay their bill and the doctor is almost ALWAYS the last to get paid.  I don't stamp "PAST DUE" on the bill until the 3rd statement with no payment received.  If they're at least paying some, I'm grateful and not snotty about it.  I write "Thank You!" next to the payment on the statement.  If they come in for treatment I try to collect something while they're there.  We're very lucky that we have great patients who pay their bills.  I usually only have about 10 past due patients per month.  I will write a note explaining why they are receiving a bill (co-pay, deductible, non-covered) and send a copy of the EOB. 

I write off about 10 accounts per year.   They have a note in their file that they have to clear their balance prior to any further treatment.

I know that most offices will send to collections, but we are in a small town and the bad press isn't worth it.  It's not good business, but not worth the hassle (usually the balances aren't big, and they usually need the doctor at some point).

It's a sad truth that most people think if they have insurance they don't have to pay.  So new patients need to know what their portion will be (approximately) when they begin treatment.  So no surprises.

The next wave of trouble to hit the medical profession is going to be the concept of "Free Health Care".  It's not free and never will be free.  Neither to provide nor receive.  The public is badly misinformed about what's coming.

I will be very curious to see how others handle this topic!  I would love to have 100% collections, but somehow I don't see that happening.

PMRNC:
DMK answered you so on the money I can't think of anything to add.. LOL :(

jyoung65:
Thanks Linda!

Michele:
I think most handle things like DMK does.  The only thing I would add is that we try to make sure the patient statements are very clear as to what they are being billed for and why.  They are more likely to pay if they understand the bill and can recognize that it is their responsibility, not still out to insurance.  Also, we send initial bill, then a "friendly reminder" then a final notice.  Many of our providers drop it prior to collections if it's a small balance (under $50 not worth the effort) or a concern about bad publicity.

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