Healthcare facilities are having to make some tough choices and are facing new realities, for who knows how long, and there are potential downstream implications for companies that collect on medical debt.
Many hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country are postponing or canceling what they deem to be “elective” procedures in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The cancellation of those procedures likely means that fewer placements are coming from those facilities to collection agencies that collect on medical debts and those companies should start preparing for a decrease in the number of new accounts.
One hospital network in California is canceling 7,000 appointments a day, according to a published report. Some patients are being more proactive and are canceling or postponing appointments on their own, fearful of being in or near hospitals during a global pandemic.
A survey of orthopedic surgeons, for example, revealed that 23% of them have noted an increase in the number of cancellations and more expect them to continue going forward, according to a published report.
There is a concern in the healthcare industry that the number of cancellations will impact their revenue and profits for 2020, but that impact should be modest unless the number of cases of individuals with coronavirus significantly increases in the days and weeks ahead.
“We believe delayed procedures will eventually be made up at hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers once COVID tapers,” analysts wrote in a report. “The net impact on health care providers should be modest for FY20, barring a full-blown pandemic.”
