Since the Affordable Care Act was singed into law, the
number of insured has been on the rise,
meaning patients have greater access to high cost procedures crucial to their
health, but a noticeable roadblock has started to emerge blocking the path to
payment for many patients... high deductibles. The downside of insuring those with preexisting conditions
is that higher deductibles are unavoidable. With stagnant wages, rising medical costs, and increased insurance
costs, the purchasing power of patients is on the decline but their need for
quality healthcare has not changed.
The average deductible for an unsubsidized Bronze plan under
the ACA is $5,731. For a middle-income family facing a
high cost surgery or procedure, this could be a devastating blow considering
that many families don't have that kind of cash available after paying for
everyday expenses. Creating an
easily accessible path to payment for patients on a budget relieves a heavy
burden and allows families to stay focused on the decisions that matter most,
those concerning their health and not their pocketbook. While patients have some options in
terms of payment plans or patient financing, most options fall short on either the administrative or
patient side.
In-House Billing
When administration staff cannot collect full payment up
front, patients are often put on payment plans. Problems often arise when busy administrators try to act as
a bill collector in addition to all their other responsibilities. Outstanding receivables start to pile
up and patients stop returning phone calls. As deductibles increase and out-of-pocket costs rise, more
and more patients need payment plans to pay off their balances resulting in
expanding collection problems.
Medical Credit Cards
Medical credit cards are a very popular option in today’s
market for financing out-of-pocket medical expenses. Administrators often utilize 3rd party credit
card programs to outsource billing and collections and to get upfront payouts
for qualified patients, greatly improving cash flow. While these credit cards often carry short-term promotional
terms that can be attractive to patients, high default interest rates often
over 26% only create more financial trouble for patients. Patients often fail to recognize the
pitfalls of these credit cards when faced with a serious medical procedure,
putting the focus on their health and not realizing the long-term financial repercussions.
For administrative staff, the best approach in most cases is
for professional bill collectors to collect the bills but the bill collectors
don't need to be the bad guys.
Simple, straight forward payment plans with fixed terms and no “gotcha
rates” will be crucial to the financial health of families facing rising
deductibles as well as for administrators that want to leave their patients in
good hands while still getting up-front payouts to help manage cash-flow.
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