Bad debt in a shifting economy

As more Americans become unemployed and potentially also become uninsured or underinsured, a new challenge is being added to the patient financial counselor’s responsibilities.

Add to this the continued increase in high deductible health plans, and providers are starting to see increases in the self pay dollars owed for services.

We are also seeing software tools being used which provide a propensity to pay score for self pay patients or patients with a self pay balance.

My question is this — what impacts on bad debts are you seeing both because of the shifting economy and because of the new technology being deployed?

Editor’s note: This post was provided by Sandra J. Wolfskill, FHFMA, president of Wolfskill & Associates, Inc., in Chardon, OH.