Chat with us, powered by LiveChat

Hiring a Debt Collection Agency for a Healthy Revenue Cycle

Mar 29, 2021

hiring a debt collection agency for healthy revenue cycle

The mounting problem of bad debts can put a tremendous financial strain on healthcare organizations and providers. Maintaining a healthy revenue cycle is crucial for keeping any medical practice afloat and hiring a debt collection agency can be just the solution.

As patients assume more of the burden of health care costs in the form of higher insurance company deductibles, more are finding it difficult to meet their obligation for the health services they require.

Take advantage of licensed debt collectors. Certified debt collection agencies such as Capital Recovery keep up with a rapidly evolving and increasingly complex medical billing landscape. Their health information management can help you with debt recovery.

Hiring a Debt Collection Agency: Healthcare Revenue Cycle

Below are three ways hiring a debt collection agency, like CRC, can help your business manage the effects of bad debt on your practice.

  1. Accurate Analysis of Bad Debt Recovery Data

Understanding the more profound meaning underlying payment behavior requires precise data collection and recovery. For example, using the standard leading-practice billing cycle of 120 days, plus “days to pay” for calculating when a payment is due, should be considered bad debt. You can root out possible procedural problems of your revenue cycle with collections.

The ratio of bad debt recoveries, those with medical collections originating after a period of six months to one year for self-paying patients, is ordinarily high. When these debt recoveries are high for patients with insurance, however, it could be an indication that your pre-service collection procedures could use some tweaking.

By isolating the patient category, procedures, amounts and similar data for the most frequently occurring bad debt transfers for a 12-month period, you can create an action plan for improving revenue cycle performance.

  1. Suitable Definition of Patient Categories

Determining a patient’s ability and propensity to pay before you render any services, requires adequately trained staff and proactive front office procedures. A screening process should exist that attempts to determine on the initial visit each patients’:

  • Ability to pay
  • Willingness to pay
  • Likelihood to pay
  1. Apt Updating of Payment/Billing Systems

Today’s health consumers require easy payment methods and options. Modern POS systems and features such as text billing reminders for patient payments can help increase the overall amount collected. New insurance eligibility regulations and patients’ increased responsibility work to create a new well-informed type of health consumer. With high expectations, these customers expect a seamless and comfortable payment experience similar to what they experience with their non-medical purchases. Accommodating their desire for convenience increases the chances of receiving timely payments.

Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management

The best strategy for receiving payments from patients is to communicate the billing policy clearly at the onset of the relationship and tailor payment plans for individual needs. Backing up electronic health records also ensures more protection for any practice management association.

Capital Recovery Corporation (CRC) has a wide range of extended business office functions such as charge capture and proper coding to help accounts receivable (AR) departments with their revenue cycle. Is your AR or claims management department is suffering? Hiring a debt collection agency can help. Learn about the advantages of working with professional debt collection agencies now. Contact CRC before it is too late.