Articles

Making it Easier For Patients to Pay is a Win-Win for Patients and Hospitals Alike

Oct 24, 2023

Self-pay and private insurance comprise 68.9% of the typical hospital’s payer mix, representing $759 billion in net patient revenue. The self-pay portion of that amount continues to grow as the adoption of high-deductible health plans continues. This means hospitals must get better at collecting from patients. That, however, is becoming increasingly challenging as a growing number of patients now carry medical debt.

Today, 100 million Americans have medical debt, and 73% of past-due medical debt amounts are owed in part or entirely to hospitals.[1],[2] Because of this, 63% of those patients have cut back their spending on basics like food and clothing.[3] Nearly half have depleted their savings, and 40% have taken on extra work.[4] Sadly, 17% have lost a home or had to declare bankruptcy.[5]

40% of consumers say they are more afraid of medical debt than of getting a severe illness.

Besides the impact on patients, the impact on hospitals is also significant. In addition to increasing collection costs, hospitals can experience poor cash flow, higher fees for collection agencies, increasing write-offs, and lost revenue potential. It can also cause patients to put off care, further impacting hospitals participating in value-based care models and risk-based payer contracts.[6] When patients put off care, their conditions can deteriorate, leading to more emergency department visits and hospitalizations, which drives costs even higher.

46% of patients with medical debt put off care, and 41% didn’t fill a prescribed medicine due to cost.[7]

Putting patients first

The best approach hospitals can take is to improve the patient financial experience by making it easier for self-pay patients to pay without forcing them to take on more debt. By doing so, hospitals can improve collections while attracting and retaining loyal patients. This is important at a time when patients have greater choice in where to receive their healthcare. Retail clinics, walk-in urgent care centers, telehealth companies, and pharmacy clinics are readily available, significantly more convenient, and often less expensive than hospital-based services.

In a survey of 1,500 patients, 90% said that provider loyalty depends on the patient financial experience.[8] Yet close to one in seven U.S. adults with unpaid medical bills say they’ve had a provider deny them care due to that medical debt, leading many to put off care.

Patient-centric payments

A great opportunity to improve the patient experience is by offering digital payment options such as those patients use to pay their mortgages, utilities, car loans, and retail purchases. Digital options should be offered alongside traditional payment options like phone payments via an automated voice response system, in person, or through the mail. This way, patients can choose the option that works best for them.

In addition to digital payments, hospitals should consider offering flexible payment plans based on each patient’s unique financial situation. Today, many hospitals offer payment plans only after a patient requests them or when they are having trouble paying. Besides helping patients pay their medical bills in full, offering payment plans means hospitals start collecting earlier in the revenue cycle. This makes much more financial sense than sending multiple statements only to turn the account over to an agency and collecting pennies on the dollar.

When setting up payment plans, providers should consider allowing patients to add balances from other family members to their own payment plans. Having to manage multiple bills for multiple family members is challenging enough. Being able to do it all via a single payment plan can help.

The bottom line

Hospitals and patients alike are facing unprecedented financial challenges. By taking a patient-centered approach to patient collections, hospitals can make it easier for patients to pay while also improving the patient financial experience, patient loyalty, and their bottom line.

[1] https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/diagnosis-debt-investigation-100-million-americans-hidden-medical-debt/

[2] https://www.rwjf.org/en/insights/our-research/2023/03/most-adults-with-past-due-medical-debt-owe-money-to-hospitals.html

[3] https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/diagnosis-debt-investigation-100-million-americans-hidden-medical-debt/

[4] ibid

[5] Ibid.

[6] https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_medical-debt-burden-in-the-united-states_report_2022-03.pdf

[7] https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_medical-debt-burden-in-the-united-states_report_2022-03.pdf

[8] https://patientengagementhit.com/news/90-of-patients-say-loyalty-relies-on-patient-financial-experience

Karie Bostwick

VP of People and Compliance

As VP of People and Compliance at Revenue Enterprises, Karie Bostwick oversees People functions including recruiting, training, onboarding, engagement and satisfaction. Additionally, she is responsible for compliance training, oversight and monitoring.

Karie has a long history of working in the revenue cycle support industry. Her skills span leadership, operations start up, policies and procedures development, operations workflow, budgeting and client management.

She is passionate about the experience of our people, patients and the Healthcare clients we serve and believes that a team of diverse, talented and motivated individuals working together toward a common goal can make a difference.

Robert Sterett

VP of Information Technology

As a transformational leader Robert Sterrett has leveraged his 20 years of experience to build effective service lines and exceptional teams. In his role as VP of Information Technology at Revenue Enterprises, Robert excels at taking a unique, balanced, and strategic approach to technology leadership with people first for the best possible outcome. Using his experience from engineering, project management and service line management he takes a multi-faceted approach to ensure the right people are in the correct position coupled with the best technology to meet or exceed all expectations from security to compliance and business continuity.

Robert’s leadership style lends itself to building long term relationships and has consistently been a relied upon strength in many organizations. Over Robert’s time as an IT operational and project leader, he has spent significant time in both hands-on technology facing roles and client centric management roles to bring the best solutions that strive to meet the business and client needs.

Focusing heavily on his personal development skills and opportunities, Robert continues to foster coaching and mentorship relationships everywhere in his life, and the lives around him.

Douglas Dunbar

VP of Sales & Marketing

As VP of Sales and Marketing for Revenue Enterprises, Douglas Dunbar leads with a passion for building strategic partnerships, nurturing relationships, and upholding customer service excellence. In his role, Doug focuses on marketing and brand strategy, sales team leadership, and working closely with members of the management team to best serve company goals.

Doug has over 28 years of National sales and marketing call/contact center leadership, with 10 years of service specifically at Revenue Enterprises. Currently, Doug serves as part of Wyoming HFMA Chapter leadership and has held various roles in Colorado HFMA Chapter leadership for over 9 years.

In his spare time, Doug is very family oriented. Additionally, he loves traveling, cycling, golfing, fishing, hunting, and boating.

Kris Brumley, MBA

SVP/COO

As SVP/COO of Revenue Enterprises, Kris Brumley is a collaborative partner within the executive team and a leader for operational functions across the organization. Kris productively shares vision, drives innovation, and supports those around her in a way that elevates them and fosters continuous improvement and results. She has helped create a supportive environment for clients resulting in 98% client retention and a 65% NPS score for all clients and 75% for top clients by revenue.

Kris possesses an MBA in data analytics and has twenty-five years of experience in the healthcare industry, with 19 specifically in revenue cycle. She brings a wealth of customer service experience to her role and has worn many hats at Revenue Enterprises including Director of Business Development, EBO Division Director, and VP of Client Experience Management.

In her personal life, Kris is as busy outside of work as inside. She values spending time with her family, and enjoys fishing, hiking, traveling and interior decorating and design.

Timothy (Tim) Brainerd

CEO

As CEO of Revenue Enterprises for almost 20 years, Tim Brainerd leads by example. He promotes a shared vision and stewards a culture of Integrity, Passion, and Respect. He has assembled and empowered high-performing talent and teams to support customers, facilitate strategic planning and manage the capital of the company. Under his leadership, Revenue Enterprises has doubled in size three times over the past fifteen years while maintaining a culture of caring and gratefulness.

Tim has close to four decades of revenue cycle experience, including nineteen years with RSI
Enterprises. He has been a past president of Colorado Chapter of the HFMA and a presenting speaker on the topic of Leadership. He is a fifteen-year member of Vistage International, the world’s largest CEO coaching and peer advisory organization for small and midsize business leaders.

Raised in the Midwest, Tim values humble principles like being respectful, caring, passionate, self-reliant, and most importantly grateful. His most important lesson and the lesson he hopes to pass on in all relationships is living the Golden Rule–do unto others as you would have them do unto you. He is intentional in his choices and believes in making decisions, taking action, being accountable, and loving your neighbors.

Whenever possible, Tim spends his time with his wife of nearly forty years, his adult children, and his grandchildren. His hobbies include fishing, golfing, traveling as well as game nights and sharing great food with his family.