Effective Patient Billing

Patient balances can make up 18-30% of your revenue.. So whether it be co-pays, deductibles or coinsurance you'll want to make sure you are following effective billing strategies in order to collect the balances that are due from your patients. Today there are many options for patient billing and you'll need to decide which method works best for your practice.

The most important part of patient billing, paper or e-statements (more on that next!) is making sure the invoice is easy to understand. Nothing is more frustrating than getting a bill in the mail and not knowing which visit it's from, who the doctor is, how your insurance processed etc. So, make it easy for your patients to understand! Your invoices should always include the date of service and the office where they were seen. Next, include the details of how their insurance processed the claim. Printing their insurance's payment and your contractual obligation along with the insurance reason codes will paint a clear picture for your patients of what their insurance picked up and what they are responsible for. They do not know that a PR1 means a deductible amount is due!

Paper or Electronic Statements? For this next part, I wanted to hear from patients themselves and from fellow billers. So, I asked patients to vote on whether they prefer E-statements or paper statements. E-statements won with 64% of the votes and 36% saying they prefer hard copy statements in the mail. Next, I asked billers if they found e-statements to be more effective in getting balances paid. 82% of billers said they prefer e-statements as well, but there was a collective agreement that it is heavily dependent on your patient demographic. Patients in rural areas may be more inclined to receive a paper statement than the fast paced lifestyle of a city or even a suburb. Text and email reminders that a balance is now available for payment is great for those who want to quickly open a link and pay with the scan of a fingerprint, but forcing those who are uncomfortable with that form of technology could have a negative impact on your patient satisfaction. If you choose to go with paper statements be sure to choose a form that is clear, legible and professional looking. Patients are more likely to disregard a statement in the mail that has no office letterhead and looks like it was typed up on a piece of copy paper. Offering both forms of billing is a great option if your office or billing software is capable of it.

Speaking of options, giving your patients the opportunity to choose from multiple methods of payments will make it easier for them to settle their balances. Apple or Google Pay, PayPal, online credit card portals.. most people these days have some form of payment saved on their phones or computers. So, even if they receive a statement in the mail it's easy to log in or scan a QR code directing them to an online form of payment with ease. But, having options still allows those who prefer it to write a check and mail it to your office. Having the option for your patients to save a credit card on file and authorize to charge it 30 days after a balance is due is another great way to ensure your patient balances are being collected in a timely manner and they may like the convenience of not having to worry about making the payment themselves.

Another key component to effective patient billing is having payment plan options for large balances. Unexpected medical bills are hard on anyone. Having the option to allow your patients to pay over the course of a few months without interest could be a huge sigh of relief to them. It also increased your chance of collecting that balance! A reasonable payment plan typically requires a fixed % down as their first payment and monthly installments for a length you see fit for your practice. It's also recommended, and I have found it preferred by patients, that they are required to have a credit card on file with automatic payments until their balance is satisfied. Spelling out the terms of your practice's payment plan in your financial policy, along with penalties for unpaid balances, keeps it transparent for everyone and lets your patient's know that there are options should they face a hardship because of a balance.