Patients are the third largest insurance payers in the US. Hence, insurance companies often witness a sharp incline in their debt balance. Debtors often need help to cope with such a rise in their expenses.
Here comes the hero of the show – patient-first healthcare debt collection. Patient-first debt collection is a process that offers the debtors stability and well-being. Instead of fighting the situation alone, they now have help and support. Patient-first debt-collecting companies work with debtors to find feasible solutions for patients and the debtors.
Let us dive deep into the complexities of debt collection and understand healthcare providers’ difficulties and challenges. We will also explore how providers can use patient-first debt collection in their favor.
What is healthcare debt collection?
An article published in Fierce Healthcare shows that the financial year 2022-23 was pretty bad for American hospitals. Around half of these hospitals encountered losses by the end of the financial year. The simple meaning is that these hospitals failed to collect debt effectively.
Medical debt collection is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the medical industry. Medical professionals, from hospitals to clinics, depend on the payment they receive against providing their service. Thus, the healthcare system, like any other system, works smoothly and can provide us with effective healthcare.
However, insurance complications are among the most common threats to medical care providers. Healthcare providers often face unpredictable expenses while providing superior medical services. The medical community is in deep water unless insurance covers those unforeseeable expenses. Medical debt is one of the predominant reasons for bankruptcy in the US.
Despite patients willing to pay for their treatment, sometimes, they cannot. Either they are under mounting debt, or their insurance providers do not cover the expenditures for their treatment. However, healthcare providers hire healthcare debt recovery services in such scenarios to recover such unpaid medical bills.
The process is not as easy as it sounds. Healthcare providers often come across challenges while collecting debts. Patient-first debt collection can offer a solution to their problems. First, let us find out the hurdles in medical debt collection.
Challenges in Medical Debt Collection
Overdue medical bills can be daunting to deal with – both for the patients and the medical service providers. A huge number of patients often claim that they face challenges regarding medical bills. Around 43% of patients with employer coverage face the same issue. Many patients face financial burdens and even bankruptcy as they cannot pay their medical debts.
On the other hand, medical care providers are in jeopardy. While they want to continue with superior caregiving, they do not have the means. They are in a financial crunch owing to the unpaid medical bills. They struggle to keep up with their reputation in such scenarios.
Renowned debt collection agency in the US comes to the rescue in such scenarios. It recommends choosing patient-first debt collection to mitigate the issues healthcare providers encounter.
What is Patient-First Debt Collection?
As the name suggests, the patient comes first while collecting debts in patient-first debt collection. Even though the debt collection agency collects debt amounts, it is empathetic, respectful, and understanding toward the patients.
Why do medical care providers hire such agencies? What features do they provide? Let’s find out:
Interpersonal communication:
Communication is the formula to success when it comes to collecting debts. Clear communication helps medical professionals and debt collection agencies avoid any future confusion or miscommunication.
Debt collection agencies offer patients multiple repayment options so they can choose the ones appropriate per their requirements. The agencies have trained professionals who guide and address patients with their queries while explaining their bill details.
Monetary assistance:
According to an article by the Census Bureau published in September 2023, around 7.9% of the US population were uninsured. Patients from this segment need genuine financial support. The healthcare debt collection agency that supports such patients can change the game.
Such an agency can include charity care, flexible payment plans, and shifting scale fees in their programs to support patients. The same policies will also help medical caregivers to collect insurance debt and continue their service.
Clarity:
Nothing is more appreciated than clarity in finance. Often, patients complain that they do not have a clear idea about their insurance coverage. As a result, they often spend more than their medical insurance covers.
Agencies must offer patients clarity about their insurance coverage, medical bills, and other financial assistance under patient-first debt collection. It not only relieves their stress but also makes them aware of how much they can spend based on what their insurance covers.
Compassion:
Patient-first debt collection focuses on patients’ financial condition. Hence, debt collectors must be empathetic toward patients who are under debt. A healthcare debt collection agency must train its staff to be compassionate and genuinely thoughtful about the patient’s financial situation.
The idea is to treat the patients with care even though they are defaulters. Respectful behavior with such patients can improve the relationships between the patients and the providers.
Why to Choose Us
Collecting medical debts can be tricky. If not done carefully, it can impact both patients and medical care providers. Hence, choosing the most suitable agency is one of the primary criteria for medical caregivers. Vital Solutions stands out in the crowd of many such agencies as an exceptional choice, especially for those searching for patient-first debt collection.
Now that we know the challenges of collecting medical debts let us understand why Vital Solutions is the best medical debt collection agency in the US.
Patient-first approach:
As we emphasize providing patients with optimum support, we choose ‘patient-first debt collection’ for effective debt collection. We understand the financial and emotional stress patients under debt go through. Hence, we are empathetic toward them, we prioritize their financial conditions, and we come up with a plan that works for them.
Ethical practices:
Debt recovery is a critical domain. Unethical practices are common in this realm. However, Vital Solutions is committed to ethical practices. We proudly distinguish ourselves among the debt collecting agencies.
Hence, we adhere to all types of rules and regulations applicable to debt collection. For instance, the FDCPA or Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ensures that collectors should follow the legal processes and be respectful toward patients while collecting debts. Our focus is to effectively collect debts while respecting the patients.
Clear communication:
Transparent communication is the key to successful healthcare debt collection. While we are empathetic toward patients, we also focus on clear communication. Clear communication helps in collecting medical debts more effectively.
We have trained professionals in Vital Solutions to handle financial discussions. They respectfully explain to the patients the process of debt collection. Our staff also listens to the patients compassionately. Thus, we ensure the patients feel heard and valued throughout the procedure.
Multichannel approach:
The multichannel approach is a successful approach in the debt collection industry. It is especially effective in medical collection. Since Vital Solutions focuses on patient-first debt collection, we engage them using multiple touchpoints.
We use various platforms, from automated digital support to texts, emails, calls, etc., to communicate with the patients. Multiple touchpoints allow patients to select the platform they are most comfortable on. Also, since we reach the patients on various levels, we can make the conversation more compelling and relevant.
Technology-driven collection:
You can distinguish Vital Solutions as a healthcare debt collection agency that utilizes technology to drive communication. We integrate cutting-edge technology to ensure that the debt collection process is more streamlined.
Our technology-driven communication and collection process includes secured payment options for debt collection, data safety management, a call audit feature for real-time feedback, and more. Our idea is to offer patients a flawless experience to ensure a smooth collection process.
Payment solution:
Since we have a team of impeccably trained staff, we take pride in providing a 100% result-oriented payment solution. Our debt collection processing team often collects payments on their first attempt. Also, we have web-based payment solutions to make it possible for patients to pay in the comfort of their homes.
As a result, we make medical debt collection easy, quick, and guaranteed. Besides, our team of professionals minimizes the denial rate significantly with their professional and compassionate approach.
We Are Just One Call Away
The challenges in the debt collection industry do not go by the books. As the industry is evolving, so are the challenges. Debt collection is a part of the medical industry posing its own set of difficulties. While medical professionals can try to collect debts from patients, they may waste their time, which they should use to offer medical services.
Here comes the debt collection agencies, such as Vital Solutions. We understand the hurdles of mounting medical debts. Hence, we take it upon ourselves to provide you with the optimum service. From abiding by the law to being compassionate, we have it all.
Our technology-driven, empathetic staff handles each patient with care to collect debts. Their comforting behavior, mixed with our multichannel approach, makes effective debt collection possible. We take pride in our minimal denial rate and guaranteed payment options.
Contact us today if you are seeking effective, empathetic, and ethical healthcare debt collection.