As a healthcare provider, you have important decisions regarding your revenue cycle operations. Do you handle it all in-house or let third-party experts do it? Outsourcing collections is a continuing debate in the healthcare industry. There is no single “right or wrong” answer for everyone in terms of the debt collection process. However, many healthcare providers outsource all or a portion of their revenue cycle operations in order to collect more patient balance payments. Many are also gravitating toward value-based care instead of fee-for-service options.
Here’s what you should know about the changing world of outsourcing debt recovery to collection services from the Healthcare Financial Management Associate’s (HFMA) point of view.
Outsource Medical Debt Collections
There has been a shift toward viewing the revenue cycle as a strategic business unit rather than simply the “cash flow” sector. For many years financial institutions worked with individual vendors that all provided similar services when it came to collecting on third party debt. Now, some healthcare centers, including small businesses, are working toward creating a partnership of sorts with companies that offer collections services. Many healthcare provider organizations are seeing that partnering with a third-party collection agency for revenue cycle services can be a very strategic move.
Benefits of such a setup include:
· Reduce cost-to-collect past due accounts
· Streamline accounts receivable (AR) operations
· Access to a bigger, more diverse staffing pool
· Experience-driven solutions and results
· More time to focus on giving high-quality customer service
In addition to these benefits, a nationally-based partner has access to various types of talent and can leverage that talent to bring insight to the entire healthcare operation. Working with a commercial collections partner also ensures that you both move toward the same overall goals. A mutual cooperation between healthcare organizations and their revenue cycle partners (collection team) needs to be present.
Debt Collection Agencies
Recent case studies have shown that there is a higher rate of debt recovery when outsourcing collections. Nevertheless, what creates the most debt recovery is having a great partnership and mutual respect with your third-party collection agency.
A healthcare collections agency such as Capital Recovery has worked in healthcare debt recovery for almost two decades. The debt professionals at Capital Recovery first spend time to understand your individual needs. Then, their skilled team creates solutions for you to set you up for future financial success. Especially when it comes to medical debt, it is best to not get too involved with customers’ financial troubles.
The debt collection process can be stressful and overwhelming. Let debt professionals do all of the dirty work for you. Capital Recovery is a debt collection agency that brings both proven results and a portfolio of experience to the table when it comes to third-party debt collections in healthcare settings. To learn more about outsourcing collections and the revenue cycle services we offer, contact us today.