Recurring payment plans are a staple of consumerism. We are familiar and generally comfortable with paying monthly installments for everything from home mortgages, and gym memberships to furniture purchases and Netflix subscriptions. Ultimately, the use of recurring monthly payments is mutually beneficial to consumers and sellers; everyone knows what to expect and can budget accordingly.
Considering the significant transition to consumerism within the healthcare industry, it only makes sense that hospital bills would be added to the list of things patients pay off over the course of months in regular installments. The mindset of patients has long been ready for this option to become standard. Thanks to solutions like Emdeon eCashiering and Emdeon Patient Pay Online, providers now have the customized technology to easily and seamlessly set up and accept recurring payments. And everyone stands to gain as a result.
The benefits for providers and patients are clear.
Know what’s coming in each month.
The revenue cycle is much easier to manage when you can accurately anticipate the money that will be received from month to month. Setting patients up for regular, automated payments helps to ensure cash flow and improves the health of your organization.
Reduce your costs to collect
It’s extremely expensive to chase down payments. For every attempt to collect, you lose precious time and money. The longer the chase, the less likely you are to receive payment in full. In contrast, the set up and management of recurring payments takes minimal staff time and resources when properly automated and lead to more complete payments over time. This spares providers the depletion of staff time and resources and loss of revenue, ultimately enhancing profitability.
Improve the patient experience
Proactively offering automated, predetermined monthly payment options is very patient-centric. Imagine the positive difference you can give patients by providing portioned monthly costs rather than overwhelming them with lump sum totals. Likewise, automated monthly payments alleviate patients’ worries about making payment deadlines. For some, this less burdensome payment approach may be as important an issue as the care they received at your facility.
Recurring payments are extremely welcome and necessary in a variety of scenarios. Patients who bear financial responsibility for a large portion of their medical bills or whose bills reach a larger sum must have alternatives, since “payment in full” will not be possible.
Getting started with automated payments is simple. By leveraging Emdeon eCashiering and Emdeon Patient Pay Online, your staff and quickly and easily schedule recurring payments (when patients agree to this, of course) to reduce your risk of bad debt. Call us at 877.EMDEON.6 (877.363.3666) for more information.
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