Asking for Money
We are regularly asked to put on programs for medical business offices that specifically address the issue of employees asking for money.
This is a popular subject now because providers have decided they are going to become more focused and aggressive in getting deposits, copays and other amounts due the provider. "Ask and you will receive . . . ."
In the past, patients might not be asked for the amounts due the provider while the patient was still at the facility. If the patient wanted to make a payment, the business office was equipped to take the cash, check or credit card payment, but there often was no emphasis on actually requesting money.
There were three reasons for this:
- The provider did not want to possibly upset the patient.
- Business office employees did not feel comfortable asking for money.
- It was difficult to determine what the patient actually owed prior to insurance paying its portion.
As a result of this reluctance to attempt to collect the money due, patients thought that the provider did not need or want the funds owed. They rationalized that because hospitals received tax money, government money or donations, it wasn't necessary to pay, especially if the hospital didn't make the effort to ask.
Now, hospitals are having to change public perceptions and reeducate patients on the importance of making payment at the time of service. It's a long and difficult process, and employees on the front line often aren't adequately trained to do it. At one facility, an emergency room clerk was asked if she was supposed to obtain a deposit when the patient was interviewed? She replied that she was supposed to do that, but in the two years she'd worked there, she'd never asked for a deposit. When asked why, she said "no one ever told me how much to ask for."
Like it or not, the message that hospitals were giving to the public was that it didn't matter if the hospital was paid or not.
To recap, what happens when your employees don't ask for deposits and other amounts due the hospital?
- The patient thinks the service is free.
- Word gets around the community that the hospital doesn't care if it is paid or not.
- It becomes harder and harder to convince people to pay any amounts due the hospital.
On the other hand, what happens when employees do ask for money at the time of service?
- The patient learns that the hospital expects to be paid.
- The next time the patient comes, they will bring their checkbook or credit card with them.
- Word gets around the community that the hospital does care if it is paid.
It's an education process. First you have to educate your employees. Then education of the public can begin.
Often we see providers who draft a policy for paying at the time of service, but there is no follow-up; no substantive training of employees. Pretty soon the employee thinks it really doesn't matter if deposits are collected and, sure enough, nothing is collected.
If you're going to go to the trouble to institute a policy of collecting at the time of service, don't stop there. The real work is in helping employees gain the confidence and ability to do a difficult task.
We often spend three hours with a group of employees talking about asking for money. Very few employees feel comfortable with the process. They have to be cajoled, encouraged and seriously trained before they are ready to face the public.
There is an art to looking the patient in the eye, smiling and saying "the amount we show you owe the hospital after insurance pays is $475.00. Will you be paying by check or credit card?"
Of course, that's just the first step. What does the employee do when the patient refuses to pay or says they left their checks and credit cards at home? What if the patient says they can only pay $20.00? What if the patient pleads poverty?
Your front line of defense against a bad case of Cruddy Cash Flow is well-trained employees who smoothly ask for an d receive the funds due the hospital.
Call us for help training your employees to ask for money.