The AMA’s National Health Insurer Report Card (NHIRC) for 2013 was released today. In addition to illuminating data comparing the burdens/benefits of doing business with eight major US health plans, the report added a new metric that caught our attention: patient responsibility as percentage of allowed amount. Among the eight major insurers studied, patient responsibility was more than 20% of the allowed amount for all but one. Even Medicare now comes in at about 25% — as shown on the NHIRC chart below:
If you needed another reminder that your collections process is critical to your practice’s profitability — and getting more so every year — here it is! Patient responsibility payments are here to stay. If your revenue cycle management processes don’t include effective time-of-service collections, now’s the time for improvement. (And if you don’t know where to start, we can help — contact us for more information about consulting services.)