Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty
You must have a Patient Billing/Collection Process that you follow that if the bill is not paid by a certain time then a collection agency takes over.
I know there are hardships to consider but to just write off a high percentage of your bills and then keep raising the price of transportation to offset the unpaid ones doesn't seem very business like to me.
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We do have a collection process as well as a charitable write-off program but that not really the problem. As a high tourist area we often end up with no patient info to bill. For example - John Doe is up at a friends place for the weekend. He takes a header off the dock and we transport him to LRGH for a broken Leg. When he gets to LRGH he doesn't have his insurance card and he gives the address for his friends lake house. At that point we are never likely to find the guy. He might have the best insurance in the world but unless we can get better ID we can't find him to bill him. That happens a LOT.
The other issue is medicaid. If a patient is on medicaid we are required by state law to write-off 89% of the bill.
It really is a crappy system and a small few people end up footing the bill for everyone else but like I said - I didn't create the system but we all have to live with it.