Home > News and Events > Press Releases > 04/15/08
Press Release
nTelagent’s Self-Pay Management System Addresses Missed Opportunities and
Increases Upfront Cash for Providers
Study Shows Healthcare Providers Miss Out on Nearly 50% of Collection Opportunities and 17% of Government Assistance or Charity Eligible, Leading to Increase in Bad Debt and Decrease in Revenue
April 15, 2008 (Nashville, Tenn.) --- Today Nashville, Tenn.-based nTelagent, Inc. announced results from an analysis of 40 healthcare service providers’ aged trial balances (ATB), showing that approximately 50% of patient accounts with capacity to pay for services were written off as bad debt. Another 17% of accounts could have been eligible for government assistance or charity care programs but were also written off as bad debt.
nTelagent’s proprietary front-end business solution, the Self-Pay Management System, offers a comprehensive, streamlined solution for healthcare providers looking to improve the handling and documentation of their self-pay accounts. Self-pay is the portion of the medical bill for which the patient is responsible. This includes co-pays and deductibles for insured patients and the full medical bill for uninsured patients.
“As the number of self-pay patients rises, so does the urgency for healthcare providers to adopt systems that effectively and efficiently deal with these accounts, whether they involve charity care, government assistance, discounting or simply collecting appropriate payment on the front end,” says Earl T. Winter, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of nTelagent. “Often these accounts are written off as bad debt, a policy that has been accepted as a standard practice. Providers should embrace the more proactive approach of ensuring these patients receive appropriate financial assistance, and, in doing so, increase their net revenue. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.”
After reviewing ATB reports from 40 healthcare service providers across the country, nTelagent found that approximately 50% of the accounts were written off despite showing a capacity to pay - 16% were classified as having a high household income and/or high net worth, and 33% were classified as having a moderate household income and/or moderate net worth. Instead of being written off as bad debt, these accounts with a high or moderate ability to pay could have been re-billed or outsourced for collections.
Of the other accounts written off as bad debt, 17% were classified as having low household income and/or low net worth, indicating that they could have been evaluated for government assistance programs (e.g., Medicaid or local or state programs) or charity care processing. Finally, the study showed that over 30% of accounts were written off as bad debt because income and net worth data were unavailable, revealing that adequate personal information is often not collected or verified at pre-registration or at the point of service.
“The report emphasizes the need for providers to implement an effective front-end accounts receivable solution. The missed opportunities for collection are tremendous, and with an appropriate system in place, hospitals and other providers can dramatically improve upfront collections and reduce bad debt, as well as consistently handle charity care cases,” continues Winter. “Our Self-Pay Management System provides registrars and financial counselors with interactive scripts that integrate patient demographic information with a provider's unique business policies. The system can automatically screen patients through an online interface at the point of service, requiring no additional staff to process cases.”
Bad debts result when a patient who has been determined to have the financial capacity to pay for healthcare services is unwilling to settle the claim, whereas charity care is provided to a patient with demonstrated inability to pay. Bad debt is widely viewed by industry experts as the leading culprit behind the rapidly deteriorating financial conditions in the healthcare system. A Health Forum/American Hospital Association Annual Survey reports that in 2006, registered community hospitals provided $31.2 billion of uncompensated care (including charity care and bad debt), or 5.7% of their total expenses.
About nTelagent, Inc.
nTelagent, a Nashville, Tenn.-based company, enables healthcare service providers to revolutionize the way they interact with patients regarding patient responsibilities at the point of service, including price transparency and medical financing options. The company’s Self-Pay Management System increases upfront cash and overall collections by providing registrars and financial counselors with interactive scripts that integrate patient demographic information with each provider’s unique business policies and rules. The system automatically identifies discounting and charity care options when applicable, and helps to ensure that patient financial accounting--for both insured and uninsured patients--is handled appropriately and in a non-discriminatory manner. For healthcare providers, nTelagent’s system improves upfront and overall cash flow, receivables and profitability by reducing bad debt and improving the revenue cycle process for patients who must pay a portion of the bill through payment requirements, such as co-pays, co-insurance and deductibles. Visit nTelagent online at www.ntelagent.com to learn more.
<< Back to Press Releases
