December 23, 2013 Newsletter
Health Care Provider Liens – Can They Help?
Knowing how and when to help secure payment for your business is essential. Previously, we have shown how businesses can protect their company with personal guarantees on their commercial accounts. Today, we talk about how health care provider liens can be an option for health care providers.
Let’s first explain what a health care provider lien is.
This type of lien gives certain legal rights to money a patient may receive from a potential settlement or judgment. The settlement or judgment would be a result of a pending case to recover money from a third party who may be liable to the patient.
A common situation this would happen in is a personal injury case. If, after analyzing the case, the attorney representing the victim believes the insurance company will pay a settlement, an offer may be sent to the health care providers who provided medical care after the accident.
So, how do you know if you should sign a health care lien if one is sent to your office? The answer to that is dependent on the case. A health care provider must consider different factors before making a decision. The most important thing to remember is that the lien only gives the right to be paid if a settlement is reached or judgment is entered. It does not guarantee a payment.
Another thing to be cautious of is the wording of the lien. Some liens will be worded in a way that prevents any other collection action until the case has been resolved.
So, consult with your attorney and review each lien before you sign it and make sure you understand what you can and cannot do with each one. Evaluate if signing the health care provider lien would be in your business’ best interest.
CFPB Orders CareCredit to Refund $34 Million to Consumers
Inadequate disclosures, deceptive enrollment practices and poorly trained staff led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to order GE Capital Retail Bank and its subsidiary, CareCredit to refund up to $34.1 million to possibly over 1 million consumers.
CareCredit offers a personal line of credit for various health-care services. The primary sellers of this product are health-care receptionists, office managers and office staff. Currently, the products is sold by more than 175,000 providers, and there are about 4 million active CareCredit cardholders.
An investigation, prompted by hundreds of complaints from consumers to the CFPB, concluded that since January of 2009, many consumers signed up for CareCredit without being properly educated on the terms and how they could avoid deferred interest, penalties and fees. In the investigation, it was found that some providers admitted they were confused about these consequences, as well. Due to this, many consumers incurred substantial debt.
As a result of the complaints and investigation, the CFPB ordered CareCredit to enhance the disclosures provided to consumers during the application process and on billing statements. The company will also have to provide more training to those health-care office personnel who are selling the product, in addition to the money order.
ClientConnect Webinars
For those of you who currently utilize our Client Web Link, we are starting to implement the new version, ClientConnect mentioned in last month’s blog.
We are going to start offering webinars on the new interface starting in January. Please review the dates below and reply, within the month, with one of the dates that you would like to be signed up for.
- Monday, January 27, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.
- Wednesday, January 29, 2014 at 2:00 p.m.
If you are not currently using our Client Web Link but would like to get started with ClientConnect, you may also join these webinars and let us know you want to be signed up to start utilizing this feature.
Upcoming Appearances
HFMA 2014 MEGA Conference
January 28-30, 2014 at the Kalahari Resort – Wisconsin Dells
Wisconsin Credit Union League, Inc, Northeastern Chapter
January 23, 2014 at the River Country Club – Marinette
Wishing you health and happiness this Holiday Season and prosperity in the New Year.
We value our customer relationships and thank you for being our customer.
We look forward to continuing our partnership in the coming year.
