We tell our customers not to be afraid to work with a patient who is having trouble paying their bill, but also don’t be afraid to send an unresponsive patient to collections. Our advice is to keep a clear tough but fair policy on when to send a patient to collections and then stick to their policy.

“If you show compassion, patients are much more likely to work with you on a payment plan," says Brad Arthur, Director of Billing Operations for TCI.  "It’s all in the delivery by your front desk personnel or from your back-end customer billing support. If you have a positive tone, you will have positive results!”  

Collections Policy Suggestions

1. Make it a habit of collecting co-pays before a patient leaves the office.
2. Send patients to collections if they have be unresponsive for 3 straight statements.
   • Tip: A debt that goes past 90 days loses its value quickly and in most cases is only worth about 5% of the billable amount.
   • Tip: Send the third and last statement before collections in a differently colored envelope, like yellow or red. In most cases, when implemented, practices see a successful collections spike on the 3rd statement.
3. Collect billing  data on all of your patients.  If you know your patients past behavior, you will know what behavior to expect and be able to see if someone has fallen on hard times or if this just repeated behavior.
   • Tip:  If you know your patients past behavior, you will know what behavior to expect and be able to see if someone has fallen on hard times or if this just repeated behavior.
   • Tip:  Keep your patient data updated, especially an address, cell phone number, emergency contacts and next of kin information to improve your chances of collection.
4. Always work with patients who are experiencing financial difficulty
   • Tip:  Use a payment plan no matter how low just to keep the patient in the habit of paying their bill.
5. Be perceived as tough but fair by  your patients
   • Tip: Don’t make an exception.  Most everyone can afford a $10 per month payment plan if it comes to that and you would still be keeping your policy.
6. Only Use collections companies familiar with collecting medical debts
   • Tip: Collecting medical debts requires more restraint than collecting other debts in most cases.   Make sure your collections company has a background in collecting medical debts.

Bottomline

You should never just write off a debt owed to you without first pursuing a payment plan, a negotiated settlement, or the use of a collections company. Those who truly want to pay you back will find a way through one of these options.