Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.
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5 4 O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | M A Y 2 0 1 5 It's not a good idea to let patients leave your facility still owing out-of-pocket costs for their surgi- cal care. Once patients walk out the door, studies show they're 50% to 70% less likely to pay their remaining bills. Here are 10 collection tips. 1. Wait out their deductible. Since most health insurance plans work on a calendar year, a patient scheduled for surgery in January with a deductible of $5,000 may cancel because she can't afford the cost, says Kym Wise, CASC, administrator at The Skin Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. She suggests keeping in contact with these patients by creating a tickler file with their names, con- tact information and needed procedure. Around the end of August, when their deductible may have been met, reach out and get them back on track for their surgery. 2. Help patients find better plans. Help patients with no or poor health insurance find bet- ter coverage, says Corrie Massey, MBA, administrator of Foothill Surgery Center at Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara, Calif. Foothill often refers patients with no insurance — or insurance that requires sky-high out-of-pocket costs — to a trusted broker. 3. Pay attention to insurance contracts. If you're an in-network provider, your insurance contract might prohibit you from charging patients on the day of surgery. For these patients, inform them verbally and in writing of the estimated amount that they'll owe after the proce- dure, and have them sign a document acknowledging that they take responsibility for the cost, says Martha Colen, RN, MBA, CASC, administrator of Virginia Beach (Va.) Ambulatory Surgery Center. 4. Designate staff for specific financial roles. At Ms. Colen's center, an employee is in charge of dealing with patients' insurance to determine out-of-pock- et costs, and another is responsible for collecting those costs on the day of surgery. Having assigned roles keeps things organized and running smoothly, she says. 5. Sweat the small stuff. Don't just assume it will be too expensive or time consuming to collect smaller bills. Instead, take a look at possible costs of chasing PAID IN FULL 10 Tips for Collecting Out-of-Pocket Costs