Practice Management Alert

Keep your notice formal and simple, advises Penny Noyes, president, CEO and founder of Health Business Navigators in Bowling Green.

“Most people don’t realize that the termination clause is where the process starts and ends,” Noyes says. “Set the clock, tell them you expect them to renegotiate in good faith, and that you expect a follow-up.”

She advises plain language, like:

According to the terms of our agreement in <place your termination section here>, I can serve you notice at this time. Please know that the purpose is to renegotiate and not terminate, but if we don’t come to terms in 30 days, please understand that this is my termination notice.

Here’s a checklist of things to include in your notice:

• Practice name
• Practice TIN and locations
• Physicians in the practice
• Signatures of each provider, if using individual agreements
• Intent to renegotiate but with a termination date if terms aren’t met
• A date by which you expect a response

“Some payers say they don’t renegotiate under duress of termination,” Noyes notes. “You can try without it, but there’s no sanction without the threat of termination. If you try to do ‘friendlies’ with most payers, they dilly-dally.”