AHA Approves Updated Hospital Billing, Collections Guidelines

The New Model for Healthcare Debt Collection

AHA endorses updated patient billing, collection procedures

Federal Proposals Would Limit Aggressive Hospital Collections Practices

Hospitals Find Solutions for the No-Pay Self-Pay Patient

7 Strategies to Optimize Patient Responsibility Collections for Orthopedic ...

The impact of out-of-pocket medical expenses on credit card debt

6 Best Practices for Ensuring Full Payment From Patients

5 Tips For Increasing Self-Pay Patient Collections

Form 990 Results are in: 90% Fall Below Proposed Standard

Articles in category: Debt Management

1. For a European Anti-Crisis Front Explore boston.indymedia.org (Jul 17 2012) Collections , Debt Management Back to the basics: banks should be seen as public service providers because of their importance and the disastrous consequences of bad management for the economy ... Financing a hospital must be possible at more favorable conditions than financing ... (Read Full Article)

   Comment Mentions:   Spain

2. Federal Proposals Would Limit Aggressive Hospital Collections Practices Explore healthleadersmedia.com (Jul 3 2012) Feature Story , Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Point-of-Service Collections , Vendor Management New proposed federal legislation and regulations would limit aggressive hospital debt collection. One proposal would amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to include medical debt. Treasury regulations would set policies for patient financial assistance and emergency medical care for hospitals with tax-exempt status. (Read Full Article)

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3. New Accretive allegations: Debt collector told new mom to pay or baby would stay Explore healthleadersmedia.com (Jun 27 2012) Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Point-of-Service Collections , Vendor Management Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has leveled new charges against Accretive Health, alleging the Chicago-based debt collection agency used illegal billing and collection tactics to get money from patients at two Twin Cities hospital systems. Swanson's revised complaint, filed Tuesday, June 19, in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, cites a dozen instances where "emergency room patients (were) hustled with bedside collection visits" that led them to believe they had to pay before receiving care. (Read Full Article)

   Comment Mentions:   Accretive Health   Lori Swanson

4. N.J. lawmakers approve bill requiring for-profit hospitals to post financial records Explore healthleadersmedia.com (Jun 27 2012) Collections , Community Benefit , Cost Reduction , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Point-of-Service Collections , Vendor Management The bill (A2143) passed the Senate in March and now heads to Gov. Chris Christie, who will decide whether to sign it. Any hospital that seeks a share of the state charity care funds to treat uninsured patients would have to disclose sources of income, business holdings and salaries of its top officers along with other information that nonprofit companies must file with the Internal Revenue Service, according to the bill. The state Department of Health and Senior Services would collect and post the information on its website. (Read Full Article)

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5. Annual Survey: Payer Performance in Claims Processing Falters Explore Healthcare Technology News (Jun 25 2012) Business Process Improvement , Debt Management For the first time in the seven-year history of athenahealth’s annual PayerView Rankings of insurance company performance in processing and paying claims, industry’s performance showed no sign of year-over-year improvement. (Read Full Article)

   Comment Mentions:   Jonathan Bush

6. The impact of out-of-pocket medical expenses on credit card debt Explore Health Populi (Jun 23 2012) Feature Story , Collections , Cost Reduction , Debt Management More than 2 in 3 U.S. households with debt point to medical spending as a key contributor to their indebtedness. Among the out-of-pocket (OOP) costs that drive household debt are the cost emergency room visits, dental expenses, prescription medications, inpatient hospital stays, and visits to the doctor, shown in the chart. Welcome to The Plastic Safety [...] (Read Full Article)

   Comment Mentions:   Health Economics   Health Populi   Health Consumers

7. AHA endorses updated patient billing, collection procedures Explore Healthcare Finance News (Jun 6 2012) Feature Story , Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Patient Friendly Billing , Point-of-Service Collections , Vendor Management Last week, a number of major national hospital organizations, such as the American Hospital Association (AHA), lent their support to the recently updated Statement of Principles and Guidelines on practices that hospitals should follow in regards to billing and collection, which incorporate patient-friendly billing practices. Election Feature Content:  No Feature read more (Read Full Article)

   Comment Mentions:   American Hospital Association

8. Hospitals Find Solutions for the No-Pay Self-Pay Patient Explore healthleadersmedia.com (Jun 6 2012) Feature Story , Collections , Cost Reduction , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Vendor Management Efforts to help uninsured patients achieve healthcare coverage can be uneven, leaving medical providers and patients clamoring for solutions to a complex bureaucracy that stymies their abilities to access reimbursement. (Read Full Article)

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9. Kyle Goldammer: How to Improve ASC Cash Flow in 30 Minutes Explore Becker's ASC Review (Jun 5 2012) Business Process Improvement , Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Revenue Cycle , Vendor Management A recent study conducted by MGMA showed that independent physician clinics are only collecting 75 percent of the revenue they deserve due to poor revenue cycle management practices. These poor practices include inaccurate demographic information at time of admission, an inadequate charge master, below market rate payer contracts, poor coding, denied claims, antiquated claims management and electronic claims submission, and a lack of follow up on aging receivables. Although all of these issues ca (Read Full Article)

   Comment Mentions:   Medical Group Management Association

10. AHA Approves Updated Hospital Billing, Collections Guidelines Explore Becker's Hospital Review (May 30 2012) Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Patient Friendly Billing , Point-of-Service Collections , Vendor Management In an effort to adapt to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and as a reminder that hospitals must address billing issues in a "timely, transparent and forthright manner," the American Hospital Association released updated guidelines (pdf) on hospital billing and collection practices. Under the PPACA, non-profit hospitals must conduct community needs assessments, clearly state financial aid policies and follow other billing procedures in order to keep their tax exemptions. The AHA ori (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   American Hospital Association

11. 14 Pros and Cons of Outsourcing ASC Billing Explore Becker's ASC Review (May 30 2012) Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Patient Friendly Billing , Revenue Cycle , Vendor Management There are benefits and drawbacks to every decision ASC administrators make, including the decision about whether to outsource billing and collections. Here, industry experts discuss the pros and of outsourcing revenue cycle management. 1. Vendors are liable for coding mistakes. Surgery centers around the country are dealing with RAC audits, a new anxiety for many administrators. When auditors find a mistake, in-house billing departments are responsible (Read Full Article)

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12. Why The Media 'Can't Handle the Truth' About Accretive Health Explore forbes.com (May 22 2012) Collections , Debt Management , Revenue Cycle Journalists across the country and the most powerful lawyer in the State of Minnesota can't handle the truth about Accretive Health and the services it actually provides. Too bad that Accretive, unlike Jack Nicholson's Col. Nathan Jessup in "A Few Good Men," didn't commit any crime. (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Accretive Health   Lori Swanson

13. Michael Lamm: Healthcare ARM and RCM Industries Converging Explore insideARM (May 17 2012) Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Revenue Cycle , Vendor Management The convergence between Accounts Receivable Management (ARM) and Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) providers continued to be apparent in Q1, as both strategic buyers and larger private equity backed Healthcare OBS companies were aggressively seeking acquisition opportunities in both markets. (Read Full Article)

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14. Accretive 'money-hungry' tactics raised alarms Explore healthleadersmedia.com (May 17 2012) Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Vendor Management Just months after a consulting firm swept into the Fairview system with a new approach to collecting money from patients, hospital employees were expressing alarm and frustration, records show. "We are giving the image that we are money-hungry," one said. Said another: "The patients are being bombarded by phone calls." In the past few weeks, Fairview and its consulting firm, Accretive Health, have faced an outpouring of criticism over high-pressure tactics exposed in an April 24 report by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson. But internal documents, including hundreds of private e-mails, show that warning signs were mounting soon after Accretive arrived in early 2010. (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Accretive Health   Lori Swanson

15. EHR incentive payments improve bottom line of for-profit hospitals Explore American Medical Association (May 16 2012) Debt Management , Meaningful Use , Payment Models A debt-rating agency predicts they will use the extra money toward acquisitions. (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Irving Levin Associates   Universal Health Services

16. Health Care Debt Collection Draws Attention of Politicians Everywhere Explore insideARM (May 11 2012) Feature Story , Collections , Debt Management The Minnesota Attorney General's scathing report into collection practices by Accretive Health may have attracted the attention of the federal U.S. Health and Human Services Department. It's the latest group to wade into the medical debt collection fray, a group that includes a state attorney general, a federal agency, U.S. Representatives and Senators, and the mayor of a major city. (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Kathleen Sebelius   Health and Human Services   Accretive Health

17. Accretive Health may farm out debt-collection work Explore healthleadersmedia.com (May 10 2012) Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Point-of-Service Collections , Vendor Management Accretive Health Inc. is in little danger of losing any more of its customers and is considering doing away with its hospital debt-collection services, the company's chief executive said Wednesday. Accretive Health Inc. is in little danger of losing any more of its customers and is considering doing away with its hospital debt-collection services, the company's chief executive said Wednesday. The practice has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks after Minnesota's Attorney General released a blistering report, accusing the company of unsavory tactics that may have violated debt-collection laws. (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Accretive Health Inc.

18. 5 Much Better Ways To Collect Patient Debt Explore Hospital Impact (May 8 2012) Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Point-of-Service Collections , Revenue Cycle , Vendor Management by Ron Shinkman, FierceHealthFinance We tend to be creatures of habit, often settling into routines we don't reassess until something jarring occurs to them or our lives.Hospital finance executives should consider the recent coverage about patient collection practices in Minnesota, North Carolina and elsewhere as that opportunity to make a reassessment. It seems perfectly reasonable that highly educated professionals with advanced degrees in hospital or business administration want to be proactive about collecting unpaid bills. They have been relentlessly educated about not leaving money on the table. In an era of reduced payments from public and private payers, collecting every little bit helps. But hospital patients didn't buy a flat-screen television from you; most sought care because they had no other choice. And unlike the neighborhood Best Buy, there is likely not a single price for a single procedure posted anywhere in your institution. In such an environment, dunning and then suing patients with low incomes and few resources to respond is extraordinarily short-sighted, if not mean-spirited. So how can hospital finance executives improve patient debt collections? Read the full article at FierceHealthFinance to find out. (Read Full Article)

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19. Interest-free payment program increases cash collections Explore Healthcare Finance News (May 8 2012) Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Payment Models , Vendor Management Providers offer way for patients to pay medical bills SAN DIEGO, CA - As more patients grapple with high-deductible health plans and self-pay circumstances, it is becoming increasingly difficult for providers to collect payment for services rendered. Many organizations are starting to offer zero- or low-interest payment programs to their patients who would otherwise be unable to pay for medical services in a timely fashion. Election Feature Content:  No Feature read more (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Palomar Health

20. Poorest no longer to pay highest price at CO hospitals Explore healthleadersmedia.com (May 8 2012) Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Payment Models , Vendor Management Starting Aug. 8, Colorado hospitals will no longer be allowed to charge their highest prices to the poorest, uninsured patients. A bill banning the widespread practice was signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper Monday afternoon. Currently, hospitals effectively charge different prices for the same procedure, depending on who's paying. The uninsured end up with the highest prices because they don't have an insurance company to negotiate for them. The new law would make hospitals give their best price, not their worst, to the low-income and uninsured. The bill had support from the Colorado Hospital Association. The bill also requires hospitals to tell patients about their financial aid and payment plans. Hospitals also would be required to give patients 30 days after a late payment before sending bills to collections agencies. (Read Full Article)

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21. Medicare to exhaust hospital funding by 2024, US says Explore healthleadersmedia.com (Apr 24 2012) Cost Containment , Debt Management , Payment Models The deal President Barack Obama made last year with Republicans to reduce the U.S. deficit may have stalled a worsening in the financial condition of Medicare. The debt-reduction legislation included cuts to Medicare payments that will be automatically enacted in 2013. Those reductions are offsetting gloomier assumptions about the nation's future economic performance, leading to no change in the 2024 date that trustees said Medicare will exhaust its main trust fund. The insolvency date didn't change, in part, because of 2 percent payment cuts that were part of the congressional debt- reduction deal, according to a report from the trustees. (Read Full Article)

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22. Directions in Group Practice Management Collection Explore Executive Insight (Apr 22 2012) Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Point-of-Service Collections , Vendor Management All installments of this print and online column can be viewed in this handy e-book. (Read Full Article)

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23. Costly medical-bill myths Explore money.msn.com (Apr 19 2012) Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Patient Friendly Billing , Payment Models , Point-of-Service Collections , Scoring , Vendor Management When doctor or hospital bills go unpaid, they can end up going to collections and hurt your credit score. To protect yourself, you need to know how the process works. (Read Full Article)

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24. Transforming Big Data Challenges Into Opportunities Explore Healthcare Technology News (Apr 18 2012) Business Process Improvement , Collections , Debt Management , Improving Collections , Vendor Management We create 2.5 quintillion (or 2.518) bytes of data every day, according to IBM, with 90 percent of the data in the world created in the last two years alone. What does that mean in context? (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Health Data Management

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