Healthcare providers are overhauling their patient collection operations, according to the results of a survey conducted by the Healthcare Financial Management Association, with 88% of the respondents saying COVID-19 has impacted their collections approach in some way and 18% saying the coronavirus has impacted their approach in every way.
Seventy percent of providers have increased the number of payment options they have available, 74% have adjusted the timing of when bad debts are placed with a collection agency, and 61% have delayed furnishing information about unpaid debts to a credit reporting agency.
In keeping with the theme of emphasizing the importance of empathy in collections, especially during the pandemic, many providers said they are taking steps to be more compassionate and flexible with patients, including being “less pushy” about collecting self-pay balances, extending timeframes for a payment to be made, offering discounts, adopting flexible payment terms, and event extending lines of credit to patients who are not able to pay their bills.
“While collecting with compassion has always been a key focus, we as an industry need to get more creative in the ways we facilitate those activities,” says Shannon Dauchot, CEO of Parallon’s Revenue Cycle Point Solutions Division, which sponsored the HFMA survey. “Beyond increasing flexible payment terms, providers should consider more proactively identifying those patients who may be eligible for either financial assistance or secondary insurance coverage through state, federal and local programs. Often patients and their families are unaware they qualify for these ‘safety net’ programs. Investing in resources to further help these efforts not only aligns with a provider’s mission, it relieves some of the financial insecurities often impacting our patients and their families. During the pandemic, patients have shown a positive sentiment toward healthcare providers. Consumers have demonstrated a willingness to pay their outstanding balances despite other financial obligations they may have, communicating the value they place on healthcare services and the willingness to support frontline workers during this time.”
