Collect More From Patients Without Hurting Satisfaction

One trend that’s made it tougher for providers to collect the money they’re owed: an increase in patient responsibility. Thanks to higher-deductible plans, a greater number of uninsured patients, and larger co-pays, more of the money owed to providers is coming directly from patients’ pockets.

While getting reimbursement from insurance companies is difficult, collecting from patients is one of the biggest challenges hospitals and practices face. And as those funds start making up a larger percentage of providers’ incomes, collecting them is becoming more and more critical.

Bad debt often comes from patients

In a 2010 survey conducted by the Association for Work Process Improvement1 providers reported that around 10% of their revenue was collected directly from patients. But despite the low percentage, those same organizations said that more than half (58%) of all their bad debt came from outstanding patient balances.

And the revenue that providers are missing out on has only increased as patient responsibilities have done the same. More recent estimates say that as much as 30% of all provider revenue is coming out of patients’ own pockets.

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