The average cost for a hospital to collect debt has worsened by 70 basis points between 2011 and 2015, according to an analysis of healthcare facilities conducted by The Advisory Board, a consultancy.
The average 350-bed hospital has lost $22 million in revenue because it is focusing too much on cost and not enough on revenue cycle performance, the consultancy said. Higher deductibles are causing patients to bear more of the financial burden and that is resulting in higher amounts of unpaid bills. Between 2008 and 2015, the amount of individuals with deductibles exceeding $2,000 nearly quadrupled, to 19%. During the same span, the amount of bad debt represented by patient obligations increased to 4.4%, from 0.9%.
A published report made the following suggestions to help hospitals improve their collection rates:
- Establish expectations with staff
- Get to know the patient at time of scheduling
- Offer payment options to fit the patient’s ability to pay and make payment convenient
“To build more enduring relationships with patients and improve collections, hospitals and health systems should improve the patient financial experience with a foundation built on transparent search capabilities for price estimates, convenient access for scheduling and payment, a positive care encounter and each point of financial contact contributing to the construction of a durable relationship,” The Advisory Board wrote in its analysis.
