Bad debt is on the rise in the United States healthcare system and the addiction treatment community is feeling the squeeze.
As insurance reform and high deductible plans shift more and more health care costs to the patient, too many addiction treatment centers are providing uncompensated care at an unsustainable rate. The economic downturn also means patients have smaller household budgets which are easily overstretched by hefty patient responsibility payments. At the same time, we have insurance companies endlessly tightening the scope of allowable services, always churning out new obstacles for addiction treatment billing departments to navigate.
Given all this, it’s no wonder that bad debt - debt that addiction treatment centers have deemed “uncollectable” - is ballooning.
If your addiction treatment center is dealing with bad debt, what can you do to optimize revenue at your organization and minimize loss? Read on for our best tips on dealing with bad debt in the addiction treatment community.
Addiction Treatment Bad Debt Tip #1: Always Ensure You’ve Done a Proper VOB Before Care
We’ve already written about how to complete killer VOBs (Verification of Benefits) on this blog - and that’s because it’s such a crucial step to smooth revenue cycle management.
Too often, addiction treatment centers are missing key information in their VOB process. Inexperienced or overwhelmed billing staff can easily miss important parts of the VOB, ultimately leaving your addiction treatment center on the hook for bad debt.
Do what it takes to get your VOBs done right the first time - whether that means hiring better billing department staff or simply outsourcing your billing to addiction treatment billing professionals like us.
Addiction Treatment Bad Debt Tip #2: Double-Check That Patients Understand Their Bill
Patients who do not understand their bill are much less likely to pay it. Take the time to walk your patients through their bill and ensure that they understand every line item.
Your addiction treatment center already walks alongside patients in their recovery journey. How are you accompanying patients in their financial experience?
Many addiction treatment centers lack the resources to properly support their patients’ financial journey. This is another great opportunity for growth - or compassionate outsourcing - at your organization. Our billing specialists are trained to provide support and assistance to patients who are struggling with medical bills, contributing to a seamlessly positive patient experience at your facility.
Addiction Treatment Bad Debt Tip #3: Explore Secondary Insurance
A surprising number of patients have - or could have - insurance coverage that you don’t know about. Self pay patients sometimes have insurance coverage that they don’t bother to report. Patients who lose their insurance coverage due to employment changes or relationship changes frequently qualify for medicare or medicaid.
The only way to discover these potential payers is to engage patients in a welcoming, solutions-oriented conversation.
The problem: these conversations take time and skills your billing department may not have at their disposal. Luckily, Behave Health’s billing specialists are trained to hone in on these details and discover insurance payments that might otherwise be left on the table.
Addiction Treatment Bad Debt Tip #4: Create Flexible Payment Plans
The difference between payment and non-payment is often the quality of the relationship between your billing department and the patient.
Patients who feel attacked and harassed are less likely to pay.
Patients who feel like they are on the same team with your billing department are much more likely to settle their accounts. Working with your patients to create flexible payment plans that are tailored to your patient’s life takes time but the rewards often make it worth it.
Addiction Treatment Bad Debt Tip #5: When All Else Fails, Sell It
Some bad debt really is “uncollectable.”
Knowing when to give up and stop throwing resources at a wall is an important part of revenue cycle management. Writing off bad debt is sometimes the best option once all other efforts have failed.
Selling the debt to a collection agency is a common option, but this summer, the OIG advised that you can also opt to sell bad debt to charitable organizations that make it their mission to forgive certain medical debts, too.
We’re Here to Help
At Behave Health, we are committed to helping your addiction treatment business thrive. Our all-in-one software solution isn’t a generic EHR with a few tweaks, it’s been designed from the ground up especially for organizations like yours.
We monitor the changing regulations and laws affecting the addiction treatment community and integrate those details into the built-in forms and templates so your organization stays compliant and worry free.
Our integrated billing system automates your revenue cycle management, improving efficiency and boosting your bottom line.
Admissions, intake, treatment, medication, scheduling - Behave Health tames it all and puts everything you need at your fingertips on the device of your choice.
Get your free trial started today and see why more addiction treatment centers prefer Behave Health.