When a patient doesn’t pay their medical bills, it directly impacts the healthcare provider’s accounts receivable. Not many people know this, but there are several laws when trying to recover your own unpaid medical bills. Your in-house staff can unknowingly violate these debt-collection laws, leading to legal complications and negatively impacting your medical practice’s reputation. Outsourcing your past-due bills to a collection agency will also allow your employees to focus on the core tasks for which they were hired.
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- Approximately 15% of Pennsylvanians have medical debt in collections.
- The median medical debt in collections is around $600.
- Pennsylvania’s Medical Assistance (Medicaid) offers health coverage to eligible low-income individuals and families.
- Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP): Provides coverage for uninsured children and teens.
- The Pennsylvania Fair Credit Extension Uniformity Act (FCEUA) closely mirrors the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) but extends certain provisions to original creditors, not just third-party collectors.
Hiring a good collection agency with extensive experience recovering medical debts and knowledge of Pennsylvania debt collection laws can recover your unpaid invoices amicably and ethically, protecting your reputation during the process. When unpaid bills become too old (the exact timeframe can depend on the healthcare provider’s policies), they may be written off as bad debt. This reduces revenue and can negatively impact a healthcare provider’s financial health.
Today more and more doctors refer unpaid invoices to a reputable medical debt collection agency to keep their practice afloat. A collection agency will also ensure that your bill is prioritized among other bills that your patient could have defaulted on.
We all understand the frustrations on both sides of the table. Doctors need their patients to pay in order to have adequate supplies and staffing, while today’s economy doesn’t support to needs of the average civilian. This intuition combined with the necessary laws concerning debt collection practices is what drives medical professionals to hire an experienced Collection Agency.
Read on to learn about the current Pennsylvania medical debt climate to help you determine if a collection agency is the right move for you.
Pennsylvania Medical and Health Care Debt Collection Statistics
As mentioned, one in three Pennsylvania patients cannot pay their medical bills. And all the insurance rate in this state is at a low 5.5%. Those who have chosen not to take on health insurance say it is because the monthly cost is still too high. These uninsured patients put doctors in a difficult place as they have to treat the ill without paying their staff or suppliers.
A survey conducted by the Pennsylvania Health Access Network and Altarum also determined:
- 32% of Pennsylvanians have trouble paying medical bills
- 10% of Pennsylvanians can barely afford to pay for necessities
- 29% delay having medical procedures due to the cost
Pennsylvania Medical Debt Collection Agency Laws
Unlike some outstanding balances, medical bills cannot seize personal assets due to nonpayment. The statute of limitations under Pennsylvania law is four years. This means that medical professionals may contest a lawsuit to try to regain debt owed by their patients via a Pennsylvania media debt collection agency,
These agencies must adhere to the same laws as every other state. Agencies are forbidden to abuse or harass debtors, unlike previous years and must maintain strict moral and professional guidelines.
In the case of a lawsuit, the creditor (i.e. the medical professional) may be able to garnish wages from patients who have outstanding balances.
Pennsylvania Medical Collection Agency Process
Our first step in settling medical debt is to send a demand letter to the patient. This is sent via USPS in the form of a physical letter. Patients have 30 days to dispute the debt from that moment, though a response is appreciated within ten days.
In that time, we recommend the creditor seriously consider to out for Collection calls service or evaluate filing for a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires. The expiration date does not mean that the creditor cannot still seek payment, but options are minimal and the likely hood of receiving a full payment is really low at that point and time.
Professional collection agencies maintain regular contact with patients and even offer skip tracing and bankruptcy screening services. If you’re still waiting for your patients to pay their medical expenses, it’s the agency’s job to give them options or to find out why payment has yet to be received.
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References:
https://www.sapling.com/6884913/pennsylvania-law-medical-bill-collection
https://www.debt.com/medical-debt/collections/
https://www.pghfirm.com/blog/understanding-the-debt-collection-process-in-pennsylvania
http://bankruptcylawyerpa.com/blog/pennylvania-statute-of-limitations-on-debt/