For over a decade, hospital billing and collections policies and practices toward uninsured and under-insured patients have come under scrutiny, attracting the attention of advocacy groups, the media, and federal and state legislators and regulators. It’s a fact of life that hospitals need help in these areas.
Every hospital wants to provide the best care and meet the needs of the patients and communities they serve. The round the clock nature of hospitals requires that they provide access to needed health services for all. Let’s face it–relationships must be built on trust and compassion. Without that, you can’t expect to maintain your business–and it is a business.
The patient’s hospital experience isn’t over when they are sent home. Satisfaction with the follow-up billing process is just as important as the healthcare you provide. A great many hospitals lack resources to ensure the positive resolution. As a result, relationships with patients suffer–a lot.
Change is Good and Vital
The healthcare industry has changed dramatically. Allowing receivables to fall into arrears is something CFOs can no longer afford.
With limited budgets and resources, there simply isn’t enough time to follow-up; outstanding medical bills mount and crucial Medicaid enrollment assistance becomes increasingly frustrating. The world of Medical finance has become a complicated sector, with many healthcare providers unable to establish a monthly cash flow.
On average, lost healthcare revenue in American hospitals due to self-pay billing issues is as high as 20% to 30%. Additionally, according to a Ponemon Institute survey of 577 health care professionals U.S., physicians and hospitals are in the digital dark ages when it comes to using the latest mobile devices and Internet services to deliver patient care.
As a result, U.S. hospitals are absorbing an estimated $8.3 billion annual hit in lost productivity and increased patient discharge times. Hospitals continue to struggle with security and privacy concerns arising from the mainstreaming of social media at a time when federal rules carry the threat of steep fines for violating patient privacy.
The Way Forward
Between antiquated computers, devices and internal systems, increasingly complicated insurance claim procedures and the whirlwind of healthcare policy changes, it is now more important than ever for healthcare providers to have a system in place that ensures no valuable revenue is left unclaimed.
One company that appears to have changed the face of healthcare billing with one word:respect, is Financial Health. Having increased recovered revenue up to 200% for numerous clients over a period of more than 15 years, they’ve also created a collaborative and positive billing experience for patients.
The results are a financially solid bottom line, predictable cash flow, and increased net revenue without sacrificing precious time, money, and resources. That’s a concept any hospital can celebrate.
It’s vital for the industry to have in-depth knowledge and extensive experience in Medicaid eligibility verification. Patients have lesspatience than ever and want to cut through the bureaucratic hurdles preventing them from securing insurance.
The choice for every hospital is clear;either find a solution, or suffer the consequences.
Which choice would you rather make?
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Tom Lowery is an entrepreneur, writer and corportate training specialist who enjoys writing about people, interpersonal skills and business.
