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Develop and endorse payment guidelines

Patient Access Weekly Advisor, November 14, 2007

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The number of uninsured Americans-47 million and counting-is startling enough without considering that hospitals leave $40 billion on the table each year in unpaid bills.

The problem is only getting worse for organizations, specifically business offices, but there are measures that patient access can take to help ease the pressure on the back end and the bottom line.

James Yarsinsky, CPAM, president of Expeditive in Princeton, NJ, says the most important quality any payment strategy should have is structure.

"You need to have a plan. There has to be policies and guidelines, and you must spell out everything clearly," Yarsinsky says.

Yarsinsky advises organizations to endorse the following guidelines:

• Monthly payments must be $50 minimum.
• Payment arrangements should not extend beyond 12 months.
• All patients must sign a payment arrangements form or promissory note.
• Department director must approve any payment agreement longer than six months.
• If a patient misses two consecutive payments, write the bill off to bad debt.

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