{"id":9100,"date":"2019-12-11T09:42:10","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T14:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/?p=9100"},"modified":"2026-03-23T06:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T11:50:08","slug":"8-ways-for-hospitals-to-manage-patient-debts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.billingparadise.com\/blog\/8-ways-for-hospitals-to-manage-patient-debts\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Ways For Hospitals To Manage Patient Debts!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Health Companies Debt Collection \u2013 Meeting the challenges<\/b><\/h3>\n

The growth of any enterprise is dependent on a debt-free revenue cycle. In the healthcare industry, a substantial part of the revenue earnings of practice is lost to patient debts. It is believed that for every dollar billed to a patient, only 35 cents stands recovered. The situation was a lot different a couple of years ago, insurance companies paid close to 90 percent, and the liability for paying the 10 percent were the patients. If for any reason he defaulted, it was referred to collections or written off.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the current scenario of high-deductible insurance plans, a large segment of patients is not fulfilling the liability of paying their portion of dues, raising concerns in the healthcare industry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

If a practice has an outstanding bill of $ 1000 on a patient, and his portion of reimbursement<\/a> to the clinic would be less than $100, it would not hurt the revenue cycle of the practice if the patient ignored the payment nudge from them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, what if the insurance company paid only 70 percent, and the balance 30 percent supposedly was to be recovered from the patient who shows a reluctant intent to pay, this would significantly hurt the revenue cycle of the practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

The trend followed by many healthcare organizations currently seems to have drifted towards collecting a copay during the time of treatment, and bills for the remainder are sent later.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, there are many instances where bills are misplaced or forgotten, or in the worst-case scenarios are disregarded. Follow-ups by the practitioner\u2019s office do not elicit any response, the issue carries on without settlement, until collection agencies take over, or the account is simply discharged. This affects the credit of the patient if the bills remain unpaid. The revenue cycle<\/a> of the provider is adversely affected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

What are the solutions healthcare companies can follow to streamline collections?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>