Many medical professionals are overly cautious when trying to collect from their patients who have become past due, or who have a balance that insurance did not cover.
They tell me that because the debt or bill wasn't "planned" they feel bad trying to get the patient to pay, because they don't have the money and didn't plan for this "purchase" so how can they enforce payment?
Michael Herrin has a blog that covers many collection techniques and situations that attorneys run into. I thought his post titled MEDICAL DEBTS - MY INSURANCE WAS SUPPOSED TO PAY THAT would be helpful to anyone who has to try and collect some medical bills from any patient.
My favorite quote from his post on this topic is:
"When you go to the doctor, the doctor provides you services and you are responsible for paying for those services. You may have a contract of insurance, but that is a contract between you, as the insured, and the insurance company. It is not a contractual relationship between the doctor and the insurance company. The doctor's office files your insurance claim as a courtesy to you."
This seems like such common sense, but in my 18 years doing collections and at times medical collections, I have not run across to many patients who understand or know this.
I beleive as a collector or medical provider, that if we can get this information across to our patients that we are trying to collect from, we will be more successful. If you are explaining to them how the process works rather than just telling them they have to pay, your chances of getting paid will increase.
Please let me know your thoughts by leaving your comments below.
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