Collections Optimization

Product featured in this article: Coverage Discovery As of the end of March 2021, more than 53 million Americans have been fully vaccinated, allowing for cautious optimism as we prepare for the next phase of the COVID-19 journey. Unfortunately for pharmacists, the vaccination program has compounded many of the challenges of the last 12 months. Shots may be free to patients, but someone has to pay for them – and getting reimbursed is proving to be a major pain. Complicated billing processes, extra billing audits and mountains of extra paperwork, rejected claims and slow payments are not exclusive to pharmacies helping vaccinate America. With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to muddy the insurance landscape, getting hold of missing dollars is challenging. Healthcare reimbursements haven’t been straightforward for other providers either: widespread coverage loss and uncompensated care is putting extra strain on hospital revenue cycles. With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to muddy the insurance landscape, getting hold of missing dollars is challenging. Providers must find ways to quickly and accurately determine each patient’s coverage status to minimize bad debt. Navigating the complex world of post-COVID healthcare coverage What does the reimbursement landscape look like, one year on? After a long wait, elective procedures are back. But the surge in patient volumes means providers must be on their toes to keep track of coverage. The process for doing so must be streamlined and precise. Ramping up capacity to verify and check coverage without burdensome paperwork is a must. Patient intake is under pressure. More patients are coming through the doors as a result of elective services and vaccination programs (though not always to their usual facility). COVID-19 hasn’t gone away, and with pockets of infection spikes, safety remains a top priority. Capturing adequate insurance information in this context is no mean feat. Running automated coverage checks as soon as the patient arrives will minimize face-to-face contact during admissions and avoid delays. Patient access and collections staff are overburdened. Manual checks are difficult when staff are operating remotely or in a socially distanced environment, and patient information might be incomplete. Automated self-pay scrubbing can help handle the volume. A tool with built-in reporting can also offer insights on workflow and productivity, to help spot opportunities for quicker claims processing. New digital healthcare technologies aren’t always covered by insurers. Telehealth, a life raft during COVID-19, tends to be covered less often by private insurers, compared to Medicare and Medicaid. Coverage checks must factor this in to avoid errors and wasted time. Providers should opt for tools that sweep for payer updates to telehealth coverage to avoid unnecessary delays or denials. Employment levels may be inching upwards again, but tracking coverage remains a challenge as patients start new jobs with new health plans. In addition, checking for Medicare coverage in the midst of changing codes and protocols is time consuming and confusing. A third-party resource such as Coverage Discovery can look for all coverage options and make sure the right bill goes to the right payer. Find missing dollars with Coverage Discovery Hospitals, pharmacists and other healthcare providers can’t afford to continue losing money at a time when every dollar is needed to prepare for “after COVID-19.” Experian Health’s Coverage Discovery is a proven system for tracking down missing coverage quickly and easily, to avoid unnecessary revenue loss. Using billions of data assets and intelligent confidence scoring, it combs through multiple government and commercial payer accounts to maximize actionable coverage. Staff can trust the outputs and focus their attention where it’s really needed. By making coverage identification more efficient and accurate, it’s a shot in the arm for providers in need of faster reimbursements. Contact us to see how Coverage Discovery can be easily integrated into your revenue cycle, so you can maximize reimbursements over the coming weeks and months.

    Many thought the end of COVID-19 was in sight with the availability of a vaccine, and while that is somewhat true, an entirely new set of issues has arrived: how to properly administer and manage the vaccine. Now that a COVID-19 vaccine is approved and underway, providers need to execute a medical billing and coding strategy to sustain vaccination efforts. We interviewed J. Scott Milne, senior director of product management at Experian Health, about what’s changed and what providers can do to prepare. How can providers ensure that vaccine administration codes are billed correctly? The ICD-10 and CPT codes for the COVID-19 vaccine haven’t existed until now, which means providers have a new set of codes to learn and unfortunately, those codes seem to change or update almost daily. As more vaccines are introduced, more codes are also introduced, and not just for the vaccine as a whole, but for each specific dose of the vaccine. For example, dose one of the Pfizer vaccine will have a code that differs entirely from dose two of the Moderna vaccine. Keeping up with these changes isn’t only difficult for provider staff, who are likely already stretched thin, but they certainly don’t want to run the risk of submitting a claim with incorrect information. The errors are what result in denials or undercharges. A solution like Claim Scrubber ensures code sets are current on a daily basis – a necessity for times like these – but applies an extensive set of general and payer-specific edits before preparing the claim for processing. That means claims for vaccine administration are error-free before submission to the payer or clearinghouse. Providers can eliminate undercharges, boost first-time pass through rates and do away with costly, time-consuming rework. But proper coding is only the first piece of the billing puzzle. The second piece is to verify the accuracy of payment received from third-party payers. How can providers ensure that third party payers will reimburse at the contracted rates? Providers can certainly get reimbursed for administering the vaccine, but there are a lot of moving parts to keep up with. For example, both Medicaid and Medicare will reimburse providers for administering COVID-19 vaccines, but the percentage of what is covered will differ by carrier and the reimbursement rates can vary both by state and type of arrangement. Reimbursement rates will also vary amongst private payers. Then there is the variation in reimbursement based on vaccine type and dosage -- vaccines that require a single dose may be reimbursed at a rate different than those that require two doses. Even without the vaccine rollout underway it can be a headache for hospitals and health systems to manage multiple payer contracts and reimbursement methodologies. A solution like Contract Manager will pinpoint variance in reimbursement quickly and easily, accurately pricing claims and comparing actual allowed amounts to expected amounts. It is a tool built to adapt to changes within the industry, so providers can capitalize on emerging reimbursement schemes and changes in payer payment policies. It can also help identify sources and patterns of errors so recurring issues can be promptly resolved. The end result: the provider organization can the payer revenue that is due for vaccine administration. Interested in learning more about how providers can optimize vaccine-related reimbursements? Contact us. Other blog posts in this series: Segmenting your patient population for the COVID-19 vaccine Engaging patient segments with convenient, secure scheduling solutions Authenticating portal access with automation Optimizing reimbursements by capturing missing coverage

Other blog posts in this series: Segmenting your patient population for the COVID-19 vaccine Engaging patient segments with convenient, secure scheduling solutions Authenticating portal access with automation As the vaccine management process continues to ramp up, providers are focused on how to administer the vaccine to as many people as quickly and efficiently as possible. While certain features like online self-scheduling have helped to speed this process up, especially for those locations that are servicing thousands of patients per day, there are portions of the intake process that are being left behind that will consequently cost providers in the end. We interviewed Dustin Whittier, senior director of product management at Experian Health, about how providers can increase reimbursements for both the vaccine itself and the administration of the vaccine.  How will the volume of patient traffic and offsite administration of the vaccine challenge the reimbursement process? What we’re seeing, particularly at some of these large-scale roll outs, is the entire registration process being stripped. With so many individuals presenting at once for the vaccine, on site staff have significantly less time than usual to collect patient information such as insurance. Many are focused on capturing the bare necessity to quickly and efficiently serve patients. Some are even choosing to forego collecting insurance entirely. Obviously, rushing through the eligibility and insurance process, or bypassing the process itself, will have an impact on a provider’s ability to submit for reimbursement. The ability to confirm identify insurance after the fact may be feasible for a small number of patients, but at this volume, it is nearly impossible. Think of the volume a major vaccine pop-up site might see in a single day, maybe upwards of 20,000 patients. Imagine having a backlog of 20,000 patients to identify and confirm insurance for. It’s a nightmare. What can be done to mitigate these issues? A tool like Coverage Discovery automatically finds available coverage that was previously unknown or forgotten, whether Medicare, Medicaid or commercial insurance. Scans for coverage can be done in bulk, before or after services are rendered, helping providers better identify insurance for patients receiving vaccines. Providers are not only paid faster but can also avoid the collections challenges of self-pay receivables. Interested in learning more about how Experian Health can help supercharge the COVID-19 vaccine management process?

Experian Health products referenced in this blog post: Patient Financial Clearance Coverage Discovery Collections Optimization Manager Healthcare may be historically more recession-resistant that other industries, but the COVID-19 pandemic has left many providers hurting financially, as many patients struggle to pay their bills. Patient collections were already a challenge, with declining Medicaid coverage and rising co-pay obligations putting patients on the hook for more of their healthcare expenses. Now, with millions of Americans out of work and missing out on employer-sponsored insurance, providers are being forced to adapt their collections processes to fit this unstable insurance landscape, or risk losing more dollars to bad debt. Four key strategies can help providers seal the cracks in patient collections and stem the surge in uncompensated care. With compassionate processes that treat each patient as an individual, providers can use data and automation for more efficient healthcare charity screening, find missing coverage and identify both propensity to pay and the best financial pathway to minimize the chances of bills going unpaid. 1. Screen for charity eligibility early and often Nearly 4 in 10 unemployed Americans have been without work for more than 27 weeks – the most since November 2013. As unemployment persists and benefits dwindle for many, more patients may be eligible for charitable support to cover their healthcare costs. Running presumptive healthcare charity screening as part of the collections workflow can help providers identify those who should be getting extra support. Patient Financial Clearance runs automated checks when a patient registers, so individuals can be automatically enrolled as soon as eligibility is confirmed. Checks are repeated throughout the patient journey, should their financial situation changes. Caye Mauney, Patient Access Director for Palo Pinto General Hospital, says the automated checks can confirm eligibility within just three seconds. This saves a huge amount of time for her team, while giving patients financial clarity without worrying waits: “All the information we need is now at our fingertips. The patient no longer needs to bring in check stubs or go back to a former employer to ask for information. It’s been a game changer.” 2. Find forgotten coverage quickly  Automation can help providers cut uncompensated care by finding missing and forgotten coverage, even when patient case mix and payer rules are constantly changing. Healthcare organizations that quickly uncover previously unidentified coverage are often are paid sooner and avoid the collections challenges of self-pay receivables. Experian Health’s Coverage Discovery uses best practices around search, historical information, multiple proprietary data sources and demographic validation to find previously unknown coverage. It continuously scans for insurance coverage to maximize reimbursements and minimize accounts sent to collections and to charity. Learn from Banner Health how Coverage Discovery has helped the organization find 30+% unidentified coverage earlier in the revenue cycle. 3. Improve the collections experience with compassionate billing Speedy coverage checks are just one way to give patients peace of mind when it comes to medical expenses. The collections process is often opaque and intimidating, hitting patients when they’re already stressed and vulnerable. The more compassion that can be built in, the better the patient financial experience will be. Unpaid bills go down, while patient loyalty goes up. Transparent pricing, data-driven payment plans, personalized communications, and easy ways to pay all contribute to a positive patient financial experience. A good place to start is with Collections Optimization Manager, which allows providers to segment, support and monitor patients throughout the entire collections cycle. By connecting to a host of other patient-facing tools, this helps members feel taken care of from start to finish. 4. Use data to put patients on best payment pathway None of these strategies will work without reliable, accurate data. Healthcare organizations traditionally rely on demographic and behavioral datasets, but this leaves gaps in how much is known about patients’ financial situations. Incorporating credit data can add a layer of valuable insights about a patient’s propensity to pay, so collections resources can be directed to the appropriate accounts. If it is clear a patient has a missed mortgage payment or delinquent loans, providers can help them find alternative coverage and redirect them to a better payment pathway. Experian Health combines demographic, behavioral and credit data so providers can help patients navigate their health expenses with confidence. The result? Better financial health for all. Find out more about how to optimize patient collections, whatever 2021 has in store, in our recent eBook, Recession-proof your revenue cycle. 

for our upcoming webinar with Banner Health, where attendees will gain insights into the organization's workflow and processes.  It is estimated that 30-50% of denied claims occur on the front end during the patient access process, namely during registration, authorization and eligibility. Unfortunately, manual patient intake processes contribute to these denials, and ultimately, the bottom line, staff productivity and the patient experience take the hit. Banner Health chose to automate its patient access processes with eCare NEXT from Experian Health. The solution, which integrates directly with Banner Health’s acute and ambulatory electronic health records (EHRs), automates the organization’s preregistration workflow, including medical necessity and financial clearance. This improves registration accuracy, provides more accurate patient estimates and reduces the number of denials on the front end. Banner Health has benefited by incorporating a mix of Experian Health products that integrate directly and collaborate with other technologies and workflows already in place: Decrease in eligibility errors. With eCare NEXT, initial denials due to eligibility errors have been reduced by $30M in the first quarter alone since going live with Experian Health. Significant cost savings. With more accurate estimates, Banner Health has seen significant cost savings on the front end from more efficient coverage discovery. The system is consistently finding 30+% unique or new coverage in the patient access workflow. Improved staff engagement and satisfaction. Automation has greatly reduced manual inputs, enabling staff to focus more on the patient rather than systems and logins required for patient intake. Our partnership with Experian Health helps Banner Health's revenue cycle team deliver on its mission of “getting it right, at the right time, every time."  — Becky Peters, Executive Director of Patient Access Services, Banner Health  

There is no question that providers’ bottom line has been hit hard this year, and a new surge in COVID-19 is bound to threaten hospital finances once again. As healthcare providers look to supercharge their payment velocity during these uncertain times, it’s worth taking a step back to examine the revenue cycle management process as a whole: what it is, how it works, and the clear actions providers can take to improve the process overall. Below is an overview of healthcare revenue cycle management and how specifically providers can improve their bottom line now and after the pandemic subsides. What is revenue cycle management? Any business, regardless of industry, needs to develop successful processes and strategies for remaining financially healthy. For hospitals and health systems, that process is revenue cycle management. To run a successful healthcare organization, providers must employ and manage accurate and efficient billing processes. Without it, these organizations will likely have to close their doors and will, as a result, no longer be able to provide quality care for their patient population. How revenue cycle management works in healthcare To put it simply, in order to generate revenue for their organization, providers need to collect payments for services rendered. The process of doing this, however, isn’t always as straightforward and simple as it seems. Think of healthcare revenue cycle management like a journey. It starts when a patient schedules an appointment and ends when all patient payments for medical service(s) received have been collected. As we move through the journey, providers have a lot to manage, starting first with front-end intake process, moving all the way through the back-office operations to ensure payment is ultimately secured. Phases of the revenue cycle management life cycle The revenue cycle management life cycle spans several phases: Schedule visit and secure estimate. To kickstart the process, a patient will book an appointment with a provider or specialist and administrative staff will handle insurance eligibility verification and ultimately establish a patient account for that organization. This is also an opportunity for providers to offer price transparency and provide an estimate for services to be rendered. Registration and check-in. An early and vital step for optimizing the entire revenue cycle management process, this is where providers capture details like medical history, insurance coverage and other patient demographics. Ensuring correct patient information on the front end reduces the errors that cause rework in the back office. Ensure care is authorized by the payer. Still on the front end, this is where provider staff checks whether prior authorization is required for a particular procedure or service. Not securing authorization in advance of service can lead to costly denials, rework, operational inefficiencies, and a poor patient experience. Receive treatment and discharge. Once the patient is discharged, the services provided will be translated into billable charges and a medical billing code will be assigned to the claim. It is crucial to the revenue cycle that these claims be accurately coded, as the re-work for incorrect codes and subsequent claim rejections can be costly and a drain for productivity. Medical claims submitted. The claim must then be submitted to the payer. Submitting accurate and timely claims maximizes the revenue collected and prevents delays in reimbursement. Rejected claims directly affect an organization’s revenue cycle, making it all the more important to get the claim right before it makes its way to the payer. Even if a claim is denied, is important it be resubmitted as quick as possible. Patient payments and collections. Once insurance reviews the claim and provides their reimbursement, patients are presented with their out-of-pocket costs for services rendered. On-time payments made in full are preferable for a healthy revenue cycle, but that isn’t always feasible for patients, especially now given the current environment with COVID-19. This is where quality collections practices can really help to optimize patient payments and reduce bad debt. Challenges in revenue cycle management Any process with this number of touch points is bound to come with challenges, but two major challenges seem to stand out: claims and collections. Navigating healthcare claims is complex and costly. Providers and facilities often get stuck in a cycle of inaccurate claim submissions, denials, corrections and rebilling that delays reimbursement and negatively impacts financial performance. A lot of denials can be traced back to errors within the claim submission: improper coding, issues with insurance eligibility, missing or inaccurate patient information, or duplicate claim submission. Errors like this on the front-end are a major cause of the headaches experienced by providers further down the line. After claims are submitted, provider staff will monitor and keep track of claim status. Surprisingly, many still use a manual process not only for this, but for managing any claims that are ultimately denied. Without any kind of automation, this is a drain on productivity, time and resources and it becomes more difficult for providers to respond to denied, pending or returned claims in a timely manner for reimbursement. Another prominent challenge in the revenue cycle is collections, notably collecting from patients before or at the point of service. Providers would prefer to collect from patients prior to them leaving the office, but it’s not always possible, and for a few reasons. Patients are increasingly unable to pay their medical bills, more are presenting as self-pay (maybe now more than ever during the pandemic), and some may not be aware of subsequent coverage or that they qualify for charity assistance, all which directly impact providers’ abilities to collect. A lack of price transparency for services can make it even more difficult for patients to prepare financially. Benefits of revenue cycle management Despite its challenges, when done right, there are many benefits of revenue cycle management in healthcare. Effective revenue cycle management not only improves the patient experience but improves staff satisfaction as well. Automating the process (billing, coding, claims management, etc.) reduces a lot of the associated administrative burden, which allows providers to focus on the delivery of quality care. An optimized revenue cycle will also lower the rate of denials. As errors and redundancies are addressed and prevented on the front end, fewer claims will be denied. Maybe one of the most obvious benefits of a healthy revenue cycle is maximized collections and revenue, and faster collection processes, especially when the process is automized. The entire collections process can be expedited, lowering administrative burden while also improving accuracy. How to improve your revenue cycle management We recommend providers take a holistic approach to improving revenue cycle management, focusing largely on automating the process and within the following four areas: Automate access Patient access is the starting point for the entire revenue cycle process. Ensuring correct patient information on the front end reduces the errors that cause rework in the back office. patient access. With an automated, data-driven workflow, providers can reduce the errors that lead to claim denials while simultaneously improving access to care for patients through capabilities like online scheduling. Access is further improved by reducing the friction around patient billing by leveraging real-time eligibility verification to deliver accurate patient estimates at registration. Increase collections There is a definitely a delicate balance between ensuring that debts are collected and fostering a positive patient financial experience. It is imperative providers find a way to maximize patient collections while also increasing patient satisfaction. Patient access staff must be the patient’s advocate while also improving the organization’s ability to collect from the patient and payer. By leveraging a data-driven approach, staff can verify patient identity and insurance coverage as well as provide an accurate estimate of payment responsibility ahead of service. Staff even can review data to assess ability to pay and evaluate various payment plan and/or financial assistance options. The further upstream the revenue cycle can be managed the more effective the process will be to ensure the patients are informed prior to service, so they can make their portion of their payment responsibilities as early as possible to accelerate the cash collections for providers and to reduce the need to put significant effort into late stage collections. Streamline claims Providers can improve financial performance with automated, clean and data-driven medical claims management. By integrating claims management software with customized edits into the workflow system, providers can thoroughly review every line of every encounter and verify that each claim is coded properly and contains the correct information before the claim is invoiced and submitted for reimbursement. Encounters can be processed in real time with automatic alerts for incorrect codes or other potential issues before the claims submission. Responses include a detailed explanation of why a claim was flagged, so any necessary modifications can be made prior to submission. Increase reimbursement Healthcare organizations that don’t stay current on payer policy and procedure changes risk payment delays and lost revenue. It can also be difficult for providers to verify the accuracy of payment received from third-party payers. With automated access to the right data, providers can be reimbursed more accurately and quickly, while also strengthening their relationships with payers. Providers can avoid payment delays and lost revenue with automated payer policy and procedure change notifications. Solutions that continuously audit payer contract performance can assure that collections align with negotiated terms. The key for successful revenue cycle management Technology, specifically data and automation, is key to the success of the healthcare revenue cycle. Automation ensures problems don’t continue to effect productivity, and data can be matched precisely to predict, model and optimize financial results. Both can also be used to highlight a patient’s financial situation, as well as their propensity to pay, allowing providers to optimize collection strategies from the start and get patients on the right programs.

As 2020 draws to a close and headlines hint that the end might finally be in sight for the pandemic, the healthcare industry is considering COVID-19’s legacy. The sudden shift to contactless care, financial consequences of widespread social distancing measures and changing expectations of the patient experience have upended the world of healthcare and health IT – but which changes are here to stay? And what do these changes mean for the patient experience in 2021? We asked several leaders across Experian Health for their predictions in the areas of patient access, collections, and identity management, and here is a preview of what they had to say: “Patients will choose providers that give them control over their healthcare experience” Patients have more opportunity today than ever before to manage their healthcare experience from the comfort of their own home, whether that be through patient portals, online self-scheduling and registration or online payment tools. As lockdowns and social distancing prevented patients from presenting in person, providers were forced to offer patients with more options for self-service. Unsurprisingly, this was a move a lot of patients have been waiting for and many welcomed this new technology with open arms. Jason Kressel, senior vice president of consumer products and analytics at Experian Health, expects that, as patients become more accustomed to this level of self-service, more than half of consumers will change providers in favor of one that offers premium digital healthcare services: “Providers who can meet patients where they are—through web-based services and via their mobile devices—will have the most success with retaining and attracting patients.” Online self-scheduling can put patients in the driver seat while also avoiding unnecessary contact while many remain cautious about on-site visits. With access issues removed, the patient experience will improve, in turn improving health outcomes (and providers’ bottom lines!). “With hospital finances on shaky ground, collections will be a top priority for survival” As COVID-related unemployment leads to an unstable insurance landscape, many providers are worried about maintaining effective collections processes, and they cannot afford to spend time chasing payments. Guarding against uncompensated care and tightening up the collections process will be essential. Automated collections software can help collections teams focus their efforts on patients who are most likely to pay, while also helping patients manage their financial obligations with as little stress as possible. Providers can also quickly determine which patients qualify for financial assistance, helping them get them on the right payment pathway for their circumstance without delay. Not only will this provide a much better patient financial experience, it’ll prevent “lost coverage” and allow providers to collect a larger portion of dollars owed. “The surge in portal usage means providers need to watch out for fraudsters” What does the rapid growth in portal uptake mean for data security? The speedy rollout of telehealth and other digital services has exposed security concerns for many providers, who fear a rise in fraudulent activity in 2021 as cybercriminals sniff out opportunities to steal patient data. To protect patient information and avoid costly reputational damage, providers must adopt more sophisticated identity management solutions. By combining cutting edge identity proofing, risk-based authentication and knowledge-based questions, providers can more easily verify a patient’s identity when they log on to their portal, greatly eliminating the risk of fraud. Interested in learning more about other trends that could affect the patient experience moving forward?

How did Starbucks lose $1.2 billion in sales during the pandemic, but still exceed revenue expectations in the last quarter? The answer lies in contactless mobile payments. By making it possible for coffee lovers to pre-order and pay for their morning cappuccino through a mobile app, the company was able to offer a safe and convenient slice of normality during the pandemic. While stores were limited to drive-thru and takeout, customers could still get their caffeine fix, but in an easy, socially distanced way. And customers want convenient and contactless ways to pay – as evidenced by $6.2 billion in quarterly sales. Thanks to the app introduced a few years ago, the company has been able to withstand much of the disruption that’s hit the rest of the industry hard. Can healthcare providers learn from Starbucks’ strategy? Yes. Social distancing measures and fears about face-to-face contact are preventing many patients from visiting healthcare facilities and it’s becoming harder for providers to collect payments and maintain a steady revenue cycle. Self-service and contactless payment methods are now a necessity if providers want to remain profitable during these uncertain times. But it’s not just about facilitating payments in the context of social distancing. Even before the pandemic, patients were looking for more convenient ways to manage their out-of-pocket expenses and thinking more like active consumers than passive participants in their healthcare journey. Starbucks’ story shows how prioritizing the consumer experience wins out in the end. So how do providers accelerate collections, ensure patients and staff remain safe, and keep up with consumer expectations? Here are three ways to use pre- and post-service online and mobile payment tools to optimize both collections and consumer satisfaction: 3 ways to improve the patient financial journey with easy contactless payments 1. Empower patients with upfront payment estimates Imagine sending patients an email or text as soon as their appointment is scheduled, with a personalized cost estimate, relevant payment options and convenient ways to pay before they even arrive. Healthcare payments could be as easy as ordering and paying for a coffee! With Patient Financial Advisor and Patient Estimates, providers can do just that. With a single text message, providers can give patients transparency, control and reassurance about what they’re going to owe and how they can settle their bill quickly and easily. 2. Help patients find the right payment plan The pandemic means finances are tighter than usual for many families as well as many organizations, so helping patients manage their bills and get on the right plan pre-service is especially important. With a consumer-friendly online portal, patients can check their balances, manage payment plans and apply for financial support at the tap of a button. Quicker insurance checks will also increase the likelihood of faster payments and minimize the risk of claim denials for providers. 3. Make it easy to pay – before or after treatment Reducing friction at the point of payment is probably the biggest dial-mover when it comes to accelerating collections. If patients can settle their bill at the click of a button, the job is ticked off quickly without too much effort on their part, and with minimal input from providers taff. Why make paying harder than it needs to be? Consider offering patients safe and secure digital payment methods that they can access anytime, anywhere, both before and after their appointment. Post-service, maintain a positive consumer experience with proactive follow-up, timely account information and options to navigate payments from home, if not already settled. The pandemic has intensified the need for healthcare payments to evolve. Contactless and mobile payments can keep revenue coming in the door (even when the real doors are shut). And as Starbucks has shown, consumers expect easier ways to pay. Every day that a patient struggles to pay a bill is a missed opportunity for the bottom line. Find out more about how pre- and post-service contactless payments could help your organization withstand financial turbulence, during the pandemic and beyond.

With high-deductible health plans, larger out of pocket costs, and confusion about medical costs in general, it’s no surprise that patients today face increased financial responsibility. Unfortunately, the current pandemic has introduced an entirely new level of financial responsibility and uncertainty for both patients and providers. Like many provider organizations across the country, Yale New Haven Health was feeling the impact of the changing healthcare landscape. Patients are finding it harder and harder to pay their medical bills, and more accounts are going to debt. The organization obviously needed to be compensated for their services and improve collections, but it needed to do so in a way that matched its mission and vision of providing high value, patient-centered care. A few years ago, Yale New Haven Health turned to Experian Health to improve collections with an elevated patient experience. With Experian Health’s Collections Optimization Manager, Yale New Haven Health was able to score and segment patient accounts based on who has the propensity to pay, determine how a patient could best resolve their bill and then direct them to the appropriate resources for doing so. The organization supplemented this activity with PatientDial, a cloud-based dialing platform that offers inbound and outbound communication options to increase collections. While these efforts have improved collections for the organization in the past, they have proven invaluable for both the revenue cycle and the patient experience during COVID-19. Increased patient satisfaction. A billing indicator was included for patients that might be experiencing financial hardship as a result of COVID-19, allowing the organization to hold that particular billing statement for 90 days. After 90 days, those accounts were again reviewed and evaluated for charity care as necessary. Patients have been grateful for the extra time and flexibility for payment during such a stressful event. Continued collections. With these steps in place, Yale New Haven Health was able to maintain the regular daily statement production and movement of accounts through the revenue cycle for those not experiencing COVID-related hardship. The additional revenue supported the institution and helped to maintain collection levels as close to normal as possible during uncertain times. Improved communications. Even with the 90-day delay for select accounts, call campaigns with PatientDial continued throughout the pandemic. Connection rates have increased by 5.5% month over month from January to present. Patients are not only pleased with the communications over balances due but are more receptive to attempts to resolve debt as the organization has approached billing-related communications in a more empathetic manner.