Misconceptions of increasing accounts receivable Part 2

Misconception #2 It doesn't matter if the patient pays the copay at the time of service.

It actually makes a huge difference if the patient pays their copay at the time of the visit. Copays are supposed to be paid at the time of service and the patients know this. The whole point in developing copays was to make a set amount that the patient paid at the time of service. This avoids the need to wait for the insurance carrier to make payment before the patient amount can be determined and billed.

The chance of collecting the copay if it is not collected up front is greatly diminished. If you are a specialist the patient may be seen only one time. If they are not coming back to your office, if is harder to collect that copay. The patient may move out of the area. There are a lot of things that could go wrong.

Of course there is always a patient that has a very good reason for not being able to pay the copay. There is an exception to every rule. If you have a patient who comes in regularly and pays their copays regularly but for some reason is unable to pay it at this visit, it is very likely that they will pay the copay.

Copays should be collected before the patient is seen. If the patient has to wait before seeing the doctor they may be in a hurry to get out of the office once the appointment is over. Also if they receive news during the visit that is upsetting they are not going to want to stop and pay their copay. The person at the front desk should ask for the copay when the patient checks in.

Some may think that the copay doesn't add up to that much but in today's insurance world, copays are getting larger and larger and they do add up. We were in an office once where the doctor saw an entire family of five. None of the family members ever paid their copays. The doctor was not aware of this and the office manager only sent out patient bills every six months - which the family ignored. They owed the doctor over $5000 in copays and that was just one family.

Make sure your office is collecting the copays up front. It can make a big difference in the bottom line.