With the continued rise of co-payments, deductions, and co-insurance percentages, patient balances are quickly becoming the largest payer class for ambulatory surgery centers. This increased financial burden for patients places upfront ASC patient collections front and center for every facility. ASCs who adopt a proactive stance toward patient financial responsibility can significantly shorten their payment resolution cycle and increase profitability.
In an ideal situation – submission of a clean claim and prompt processing of same by the third-party payor – payment from the patient’s insurance company is received approximately 15-30 days following the date of service. Upon completion of a properly processed claim, the facility can then generate a statement notifying the patient of any residual financial responsibility.
In many cases, however, the actual “payment in full” status of an account extends well beyond a 45- to 90-day timeframe, particularly when the balance attributed to patient responsibility is significant.
To avoid becoming a long-term creditor, ASCs can positively impact patient balances by employing the following ASC patient collections strategies in the upcoming year.
- Consider hiring a Patient Financial Counselor to serve as your ASC’s primary source of patient estimates. With their solid understanding of how insurance works and ability to relay patient responsibility expectations in understandable terms, your ASC’s upfront patient collections and patient satisfaction will trend in a positive direction.
- Pre-verify patient insurance benefits specifically noting deductibles, co-pays, and co-insurance parameters, as well as the portions patients have already met in each of these areas.
- Collect co-pays and deductibles on the date of service, prior to patients undergoing scheduled procedures.
- Ask for payment in full.
- Don’t fall into the trap of extending payment plan terms that will not pay off patient balances owed in a reasonable amount of time (e.g., $10/month on a $500 bill); otherwise, your ASC can easily become your patients’ loan officer of choice.
- Establish hard and fast payment plan guidelines. Ensure staff consistently adhere to them when payment plans are required.
- Accept credit card payments and offer alternative payment services (i.e., low interest health care loan programs).
- Employ the use of a secure online payment portal.
- Accelerate your statement process. Gone are the days of monthly statements – it is simply too expensive to carry an interest free loan for your patients. Shorten your statement cycle to daily, weekly, or every 15 days. Ask for payment in full via the initial statement with one final notice generated 30 days later.
Failure to proactively manage patient balances can result in a higher percentage of accounts receivable attributable to individuals than third-party payors and more patient accounts than you can afford to contact. Ensure your patients are informed about their financial responsibility prior to their procedure and actively work with them to secure payment at the time of service. Upfront ASC patient collections can significantly impact your ASC’s cash flow, especially as you move into the new year.
Carol Ciluffo, VP of Revenue Cycle Management
