Medical Billing Forum
Billing => Billing => : LJ March 20, 2013, 07:02:26 PM
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Hello
Can someone tell me what Medicare defines as "a reasonable collection effort" and at what point can a DME provider write off bad debt?
Thanks!
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A reasonable collection attempt in regards to collection is not by "specialty" so whether it's a DME or a chiropractor it makes no difference. A reasonable attempt means consistent for a period of time. A reasonable time is 3 monthly billing cycles. It's also worth noting that ROUTINELY writing off patient balances can be considered illegal.. What I do is alert my provider to an account that needs further attention (more than I can offer) I usually do this 14-21 days AFTER the third billing attempt. My provider then makes the final decision to send to collections or write off the balance. I require the directions in writing and signed by the physician before doing either.