gery is a big win for the facility: no cancellations, no accounts receiv-
ables and "we get our money up front with no further statements,"
says Harriet Willoughby, RN, BSN, the CEO (and chief loan officer) of
Gadsden Surgery Center, "and we don't have to set up payment plans
for our patients, which can drag on and on."
Healthcare providers have traditionally relied on insurance to pay
for most of a procedure's costs. But with some predicting that
patients will soon supplant insurers as the No. 1 payer — by some
estimates, self-pay is close to 30% of hospital and health system pay-
ments today — the ability to lock in the patient-pay portion of your
facility's revenue is critical. Plus, you're throwing patients a lifeline.
"Patient deductibles have gotten so high that many can't afford it,"
says Ms. Willoughby. "This just buys them some time to be able to pay
it off."
A patient scheduled for surgery on Monday can apply for a medical
credit card the Friday before and receive a credit number — patients
can use the plastic card that will arrive in the mail later at the dentist
or veterinarian, says Ms. Willoughby — that the surgery center can
call into the credit card company in order to receive payment.
"It gives patients another way to release some of the burden to cash
out or take a loan out," says Ms. Willoughby. "Most people can pay off
something in 6 months or a year, but it hurts us tremendously if we
drag it out."
Still, though, "stress to patients to make their payments timely.
Patients don't always pay on time and then they do get high-interest
charges," says Monica Ziegler, MSN, the administrator of the
Manhattan Surgery Center in New York City.
Some lenders approve all patients and even let them choose their
own terms so they can customize a plan that fits their budget, but oth-
ers require a certain credit score to grant approval. This leaves the
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