Do you have a fair amount of outstanding patient balances and difficulties collecting?
Well, you’re not alone. It’s common, particularly in small practices, to struggle with collecting money from patients.
Most patients never blink an eye when asked for their co-pay, deductible, or other balances. They do everything they can to pay on time and in full.
But there seem to be a few who just don’t want to pay… ever.
It’s the 80/20 rule at work… 80% (or more) pay every time, but 20% of patients (or fewer) kick and scream when asked to tap their card or write a check.
But that won’t work… unless you’re OK with donating your time and expertise.
So what can you do about those balances, and how can you avoid them in the future?
In this episode of the NP Business Matters Podcast, I’ll define the categories of money that patients are responsible for (to make sure we are all on the same page), as well as policies and procedures you’ll want to make sure you have in place. And if you already have them, you may want to revisit them if you are having trouble getting paid.
The bottom line is this: if payments are collected late or not at all, the cumulative balance could harm your practice finances and put you in legal trouble.
By law, you must collect patient balances, or you could be in violation of the insurance contracts you signed.
Listen in, and please share your experience as well!
Topic Resources
- How to Create a Financial Policy for your Practice
- Maximizing Revenue in the Nurse Practitioner Practices
- How To Successfully Collect Patient Responsibility So You Can Keep The Doors Open
- Revisiting the Fee Schedule
- Insurance Glossary you can download and use
More Resources
- Catch up on all the NP Business Matters podcasts here.
- Check out the Nurse Practitioners in Business Facebook Group
- Become a Member of the NPBO™
- Ready to start your own practice?
Connect with the Podcast
You can find the NP Business Matters Podcast on popular podcasting platforms:
- Apple Podcast
- Stitcher
- Spotify
- Google Podcast
- iHeartRadio
- Amazon Music/Audible
- Pandora
- And others. You’ll also find us in your favorite podcast player.
And as always, please subscribe, leave a rating, and share with your colleagues.
If you have requests for topics and/or guests, you can leave us a comment below, or anonymously fill out this form.
Your Turn
Chances are you have dealt with the issue of trying to collect money that is owed to you from your patients. What has been your experience? What has worked? Please share below.