White Papers

Five Steps to Maximizing Health Care Collections

The U.S. spends more than $2.5 trillion on health care each year and this amount is expected to climb to $4 trillion by 2015.

Bad debt increases as well as spending escalates.

Partnerships between health care providers and collection agencies specializing in health care receivables are a natural response to this increase.

Opportunity abounds. How can health care collections be maximized?

Here are five critical steps to success.

• Configure work flow to meet diverse needs.

  Overcome administrative inconsistencies and information from disparate systems using work flows that

  • Analyze data in real time
  • Leverage existing system investments
  • Recognize federal, state and local compliance
  • Capitalize on the specialization you need

  The Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) tool facilitates easy data input and export.

  Tags, filters, business rules and jobs make strategies productive.

• Advocate for the consumer.

  Maintaining good relations within the patient community is job one.

  Policies concerning collection processing, recovery strategies and litigation are done differently by the health care community than by other credit granting companies.

  Receivables platforms must be able to implement these policies in a variety of strategies in order to meet the needs and maintain good relationships within the patient community.

  A flexible platform following work flows that meet your specific needs is essential.

• Use latest technologies.

  High unemployment, reduced credit availability and a changing regulatory environment mean health care providers striving to improve services, manage costs and maintain revenue are facing significant challenges.

  New technologies facilitate easy data import/ export, compliance, security and analytics.

  Collectors can increase receptivity to collection efforts, as well as decrease complaints and collection difficulty.

  Technology allows for greater automation and scalability, greatly enhancing the production process.

• Be compliant.

  Overlapping layers between federal and state laws and regulations create challenges to operating successfully in the health care market.

  State attorneys general in the US have taken steps to further regulate this market.

  The possibility and likelihood of greater restrictions on health care debt collection means you need a compliance framework that’s current and easy.

  And keeping up with evolving legislation isn’t easy.

  Make sure your platform does this for you.

• Expand analytic insights.

  Use a report package that provides basic information and the ability to configure any other reports you need:

  • Measure collector productivity
  • Analyze work flow
  • Identify best practices
  • Make smart business decisions using the analytics and reports you need to review your health care collections.

Your bottom line will benefit.