Practice Management Alert

You know that solid collections knowledge is the key to bringing in patient co-pays, deductibles, and balances, as well as payer reimbursement. Are you wondering where you should focus your time and energy? This quiz will help you determine whether you're on the right track, or if you should work on your collections know-how.

Hint: You can find all the answers in one of these four past Medical Office Billing & Collections Alert articles:

• "Let 2 Questions Guide You on Deductible Collection" from the Vol. 8, No. 12 issue

• "Perfect Your Non-Par Collections With 4 Options" from the Vol. 9, No. 2 issue

• "Better Collections Rates Start With Better Collections Skills" from the Vol. 9, No. 6 issue

• "Consider Patient Payment Plans Rather Than Collection Agencies" from the Vol. 9, No. 7 issue

Question 1: If your physicians are seeing patients with insurance you do not par with, what are your options to ensure that your practice still gets paid?

A. Collect the fee for your services directly from the patient at the time of service.

B. Ask the patient to pay you when he receives reimbursement from the payer.

C. Submit the claims to the payer accepting assignment if the patient agreed to allow you to do so.

D. All of the above.

Question 2: True or false: Even if you can predict what the Medicare EOB will say (which is nearly impossible), the odds of knowing whether the patient will owe you her deductible get worse and worse every day after January 1.

Question 3: Which of the following are not good collections statements?

A. You need to pay your balance today before you see the doctor.

B. How will you be paying your balance today: cash, check, credit card?

C. Did you want to pay for that today?

D. All of the above.

Question 4: How often should you, preferably, review your practices collections efforts?

A. Daily

B. Weekly

C. Yearly

D. Never.

Question 5: Which of the following statements is/are true about patient payment plans?

A. Patients are much more likely to make payment arrangements when in your office.

B. You should make patients pay a down payment on any payment plan you set up.

C. Patients setting up a payment plan with your practice should sign either a payment plan agreement or a promissory note.

D. All of the above.

Check yourself: Take this quiz to see if you've got a handle on these collections topics, and then review your answers against the answer key in next month's issue of Medical Office Billing & Collections Alert.