their bills in one place. By enabling consumers to pay their healthcare bills this way, billing services reach consumers where they are already accustomed to paying, which improves the ability to collect patient payments and simplifies the healthcare payments process. 3. DISCOVERING PAYMENT ASSURANCE Seventy-eight percent of providers indicated that they typically mailed more than one paper statement to collect a patient payment. In today’s healthcare landscape, billing services must operate more efficiently to keep administrative costs low and collect a higher amount from consumers. Many industry experts believe that the recent influx of data and analytics due to innovation in healthcare technology, or Big Data, will give all healthcare organizations the ability to navigate the changes. Seventy-two percent of patients said that they did not know their payment responsibility following a visit. When you stay at a hotel, are you able to check in without giving your payment card? Of course not. However, consumers receive access to 26 HBMA BILLING • JULY.AUGUST.2014 healthcare services with no assurance that they will pay their portion of the bill on time, or at all. Billing services have opportunities to use Big Data and technology to accurately estimate responsibility and automatically collect payments, which creates a level of payment assurance already achieved in consumerfocused industries. 4. EXPANDING PATIENT PAYMENT CHANNELS Seventy-six percent of providers said that they offered the option of payment plans to their patients. As billing services and their clients increasingly rely on consumer payments for revenue, many have started to use more consumer-centered strategies, like payment plans, to collect payments. However, they will need to implement best practices and policies – including automating payments and communications, and ensuring payment data is secure – to improve efficiency. ■ Bill Marvin has been in the revenue cycle industry since 1993 and is the president and CEO of InstaMed, the leading Healthcare Payments Network. ADVERTISE IN Reach your target audience by advertising in Billing. We have multiple advertising options available. If you are interested in learning more, please contact: David Merli, HBMA Sales Manager dmerli@hbma.org 202-367-1219
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