Caveat Emptor
Caveat Emptor
(Noun--The axiom or principle in commerce that the buyer alone is responsible
for assessing the quality of a purchase before buying. A warning or caution:
“A final caveat: Most experts feel that clients get unsatisfactory results when
they don’t specify clearly what they want.")
It’s nice to have protection for your money. Banks are FDIC-insured. Securities dealers have federal oversight. You’d think there would be some sort of protection for provider’s receivables.
We recently talked to a Business Office Director who’d given a very large group of receivables to a company to handle as Early Out. Three months into the process, there was no recovery. Before giving them her business, she heard from them daily. Once they had her accounts, they wouldn’t answer their phone. She was, to say the least, very frustrated.
How do you know you’ve picked the best company to manage your receivables? How do you know your patients are receiving the best treatment? How do you know your accounts are being worked? How do you know calls are being regularly made and patients are being asked to pay?
It’s no secret there are companies handling medical receivables that are in it for the quick payoff. A statement is sent, phone calls are answered; but beyond that, no work is done. This is called “creaming,” get the easy return, but don’t spend any time or money going after anything else. These companies can bid low to get your business because they’re not going to spend much time or money working your business.
What can you do to ensure you’ve picked the right receivables company?
- Ask for references. This may seem logical, but you’d be surprised how often, prospective clients don’t ask names of people who are using our service. Check the references.
- Ask what kind of recovery the company expects to obtain on your accounts. This is actually a trick question. Any company that promises you a certain recovery, especially a substantial one, is feeding you blue sky. We provide our clients monthly results of recovery, but it often takes six months to be able to estimate a reliable recovery. There are so many initial variables that it would be criminal to promise results without a track record.
- Visit the company’s offices. Meet the people who will be calling your accounts. Discuss the company’s philosophy with management. Explain your philosophy on calls to patients.
- Ask how certain situations will be handled. Give some specific examples that may be particular to you.
- Get technical. Pose questions posed on government payments and allowances. Make sure the company knows how to handle medical receivables.
- Find out how your data is handled, especially if you’re providing data in a download format.
You should compose a checklist that includes the following questions:
- Does the company understand your charity or indigent care requirements and are they willing to assist you in identifying patients who may have been overlooked?
- If your accounts are being handled in an Early Out format, what is the process by which unresponsive accounts are transferred to bad debt? What is your part in the transfer process?
- If you’re turning accounts to Early Out, does the prospective company have the finesse and sophistication to react properly to unknown situations that are bound to occur?
Early Out accounts, by their nature, are often not fully resolved either from the patient’s standpoint or insurance or other factors. The provider’s goodwill with the patient is often damaged when Early Out accounts don’t receive proper treatment.
Our only focus for the last forty-seven years has been the proper handling of our client’s accounts.
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