March 2, 2015 Newsletter
Reporting Payments
One litigation trend we are seeing increase in our industry is the timely reporting of payments to the various Credit Bureaus. On a bi-monthly basis, we send a file to all three Credit Bureaus reporting new accounts and all payments received by us and our clients. If payments are not reported to us in a timely fashion, by the creditor, erroneous information could be reflected upon the referral’s credit file.
We cannot stress enough the importance of notifying us when your office receives a payment on a collection account.Reporting of erroneous information on the Credit Bureau is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Penalties and fines for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act are spelled out within the Act and cover both punitive and actual damages. The maximum civil penalty for each violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is $3,500. The punitive damages are determined by the courts and have no limit to how much is penalized. Please review your policies regarding this matter to avoid litigation down the road.
Medical Debt Continues to be an Issue in the U.S.
Even with the establishment of the Affordable Care Act to help consumers avoid large amounts of medical debt, U.S. households are still struggling to keep up.With household incomes losing $2,300 in median income and medical expenses increasing by $1,814 between 2010 and 2013, people are finding it difficult to find ways to stay on top of their medical debt.In fact, according to an economic impact survey by ACA and Ernst and Young, 38% of all debt collected in 2013 was healthcare-related. Consumers are now paying three times more in collections of medical debt than they do for bank and credit cards combined, according to a NerdWallet Health Study.”Over the last three years, overall revenue collected by third-party debt collection has remained flat – except for medical debt, which has steadily increased,” ACA Public Affairs Specialist Alex Szeto told NerdWallet Health.Last year, a taskforce headed by ACA International and HFMA released recommendations of best practices for managing and resolving patient medical accounts. To read more on those best practices, click here.
Still Need Another Reason to Send Your Accounts Here?
As if you really needed another reason to send your delinquent account receivables to us, a new survey shows yet another reason why working with a third party collection agency is beneficial to your business.Recently, American Bankers Association released a survey showing that 60% of Americans have checked their credit report within the past 12 months. This shows that people are concerned about keeping their credit ratings in check. Finance System of Green Bay, Inc. lists accounts with the Credit Bureau 30 days after the account is listed with us.These survey results show that your referrals will be more likely to pay their bill before we would report the account to the Credit Bureau.
All-Stars
For a second year in a row, Finance System of Green Bay, Inc. is honored to receive an All-Star Award from Constant Contact, our vendor we utilize to bring you these monthly blogs. We would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to open our Collection Corner blog each month and allow us to keep you informed.A lot of our ideas come directly from our clients’ questions or suggestions. Thanks and keep the ideas coming!
Upcoming Appearances
HFMA Wisconsin Northern Region Conference
March 10 at the Jefferson Street Inn – Wausau
2015 IREM Milwaukee Spring Seminar and Tradeshow
March 27 at The Italian Community Center – Milwaukee
