tive) to either set up a new payment plan or pay in full, we send the
account to a collection agency.
To avoid sending outstanding balances out for collection, we take
20% off of the bill for patients who pay promptly (around the same
percentage the collection agency takes). The early-pay discount some-
times helps us resolve outstanding balances.
Healthcare credit card
If patients balk at setting up a payment plan, perhaps they'll opt to work
with a third-party lending company to finance their out-of-pocket expens-
es. We used to partner with a company that offers a healthcare financing
credit card. (The company works exclusively with surgery centers, and a
hospital recently bought our ASC.) The arrangement worked out great.
Patients appreciated having the option available to pay for their care and
the company immediately paid us what the patient owed, minus 10%. That
cut was worth receiving payment on the day of surgery and not having to
worry about collecting from patients.
Offering the credit card came with additional responsibilities. We had to
relay the legal disclaimers on behalf of the lending company and make
sure patients understood 3 things: their payment options, that a third
party offered the card and how the card's interest rate worked. Once
patients signed off on those elements, the choice to use the card was
completely theirs. The lending company provided a payment calculator
that let patients input the amount they owed and set the payment terms
to determine which scenario worked best for them. Many patients opted
for a fixed-rate loan amortized over 12, 24, 48 or 64 months. The interest-
free option sounded appealing in theory, but it didn't look good on paper
when patients entered in the amount they'd have to pay per month to set-
tle the balance within the 12-month interest-free period. After a year,
interest would kick in — at a very high rate and from the original pur-
6 8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A Y 2 0 1 6
