5 Keys to Self-Pay Collections
When the patient is the payer, payment is required at time of service.
I
t's estimated that
1 out of every 4
dollars spent on
health care today
comes directly from
patients, a startling
statistic that speaks as
much to the surge in
patient self-pay as it
does to the challenge
of running a surgical
business office at a
time when many
patients need an inter-
preter to help them
understand their high-
deductible health
insurance policies —
and a mathematician
to figure out how
much they owe out-of-
pocket for surgery.
It's never been more
critical to your bottom
line to get patients to pay their self-pay portion on the day of surgery.
Remember: It's more difficult to collect from patients after service is
rendered. Plus, you risk angering and alienating patients if you blind-
side them with a statement for what they owe out-of-pocket when
2 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7
Coding & Billing
Brenda Zuiderveen, CPC
• COLLECTING CO-PAYS With the increase of high-deductible health insurance
policies over the last decade, providers throughout the country have seen a surge in
patient self-pay.
