![[Excerpt] What are the Greatest Revenue Cycle Management Challenges?](https://www.adsc.com/hubfs/shutterstock_268812971-1.jpg)
The following excerpt is from an article found on Revcycleintelligence.com. It was written by Jacqueline DiChiara.
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“The front-end of the revenue cycle must be diligent with determining Medicaid eligibility and assist uninsured patients understand their coverage options with the insurance exchanges."
RevCycleIntelligence.com recently polled over 60 readers to assess revenue cycle management challenges and opportunities, from the front-end, to the back-end, and everything in between.
Readers said collecting payment from a patient in a timely and efficient manner is a top priority. But patients are struggling to pay and high (and higher) deductibles are hurting revenue cycle.
Another reader concern is related to ICD-10 preparation and confidence levels. Physician readiness levels are reportedly providers’ leading ICD-10 concern.
Why collection at or before point-of-service matters
When healthcare providers place greater emphasis on collecting from patients at or before point-of-service, their revenue reportedly improves.
Nine in ten physician practices and facilities concur that collecting patient financial responsibility before the patient leaves a physician’s office or hospital setting proves financially beneficial, according to an Avality Research Study.
Over 85 percent healthcare providers say collecting from patients after point-of-service is an arduous task, said Availity.
“[The] conversation with the patient has to start early – at or before the point of service – if providers are to reduce the amount of bad debt they’re currently experiencing,” stated Russ Thomas, Availity CEO, within a press release.
Patients are not always able to expediently pay their bills, confirms a report from PwC’s Health Research Institute.
“Research has found that as many as two out of three bankruptcies involve illness, injury, significant uncovered medical bills or a combination of these factors and the fallout from them,” the report states.
“The front-end of the revenue cycle must be diligent with determining Medicaid eligibility and assist uninsured patients understand their coverage options with the insurance exchanges,” explained Derek Bang, CPA, CGMA, Chief Innovation Officer at Crowe Horwath LLP, to RevCycleIntelligence.com.
“There must be greater focus on point-of-service cash collections, given the growing amount of patient responsibility for payment.”
Half of Xtelligent Media readers confirmed they were successfully collecting from patients at or before point-of-service. Over 1 in 3 reported they were generally collecting from patients after point-of-service.
Read the Full Article Here
