March 25, 2017 Newsletter
Selling Medical Debt: Today’s Industry Leading Practice
As our healthcare clients’ reality shifts from the idea of self-pay accounts disappearing with the Affordable Care Act, to one of actually seeing increases in patient responsibility, a new trend is emerging. Providers are now seeking creative strategies, such as debt selling, to combat this new trend.
Some of the forces that are affecting this change are the increase in high deductible plans, increased charity care and the decrease in ROI in patient collections. Patient responsibility has grown and now accounts for the third largest payer behind Medicare and Medicaid. This new model lowers the patient’s upfront costs for the insurance but increases expenses on the back-end.
For the past 15 years, Finance System of Green Bay, Inc. has worked with dozens of medical providers to purchase their debt. A quality partner, like Finance System of Green Bay, Inc., would be compliant with all regulations, treat patients with dignity and respect and collect from patients who can afford to pay.
Scenarios for the different types of purchased agreements can vary. Forward flow agreements, medical practice mergers, computer conversions or retirement of a physician or closed practice are all instances where we have utilized this strategy.
Currently, we are in talks with three providers and foresee those portfolio purchases completed by the end of the year.
If you are planning now, or in the foreseeable future, please give us a call. Finding the right partner is the first step!
Be Like Sherlock Holmes and Investigate!
Upcoming requirements to report to the credit bureau make it essential to have accurate and complete information on individuals.
Come September, 2017, the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion will all require a full name (first, last and generation code/suffix) and address to be able to report an account.
In addition, they are requiring the individual’s social security number and/or date of birth to be able to report an account..
So, what can you do?
- Get as much information as possible at the initial visit/contact
- Verify the information each time you have contact
- Get a copy of their driver’s license
Our office utilizes several skip trace vendors to locate this type of information, if it was not received when we list an account. However, since our clients are the ones who get direct contact with these individuals, they play a crucial role in our ability to list with the credit bureau.
ID Theft Tip: Identifying Incorrect Social Security Numbers
A social security number has a pattern. In the sequence, ZZZ-YY-XXXX, “Z” is the area number, “Y” is the group number and “X” is the serial number. They are assigned randomly, but the following combinations of numbers are never used.
- Number groups containing all zeros
- Number groups starting with 666 or 9
Educate your staff of these combinations, which are not valid with any social security number, to stop ID theft or fraud from happening at your business.
Thought Box
“We are not trapped or locked up in these bones. No, no. We are free to change. And love changes us. And if we can love one another, we can break open the sky.”
-Walter Mosley, Blue Light
