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Boost Collections From HSA Patients
Edited by: Rev DiCerto More patients today are using health savings accounts (HSAs) and high-deductible insurance plans to pay for health care in physicians’ offices. Under an HSA, patients, as consumers, have greater control over how their health care dollars are spent than they do with more traditional insurance reimbursement options. The downside of HSAs is that they rely to a greater extent than other health insurance arrangements on patient copayments, and these copayments can account for as much as 20% of the revenue of a medical practice, according to a recent report. When physicians and other providers are uneducated about the best practices regarding collecting copayments, they may collect only 50% to 60% of these funds, causing a shortfall, says the report, Enhancing Cash Collections and Internal Controls. The report by Darren J. Hobbs and James S. Lacy, JD, discusses strategies that can help practices maximize their revenue collection when patients increasingly are responsible for paying for their own health care. Threats to Revenue In their report, Hobbs and Lacy explain how best practices can enable a medical group to collect 90% or more of copayment amounts while decreasing billing expenses. The result is the practices that follow their advice avoid the significant amount of lost revenue that other practices see as a result of treating more patients who have HSAs. As .... This articles can viewed in its entirety by registered users only. Login (requires cookies) Forgot Password: Register Here: |