1. CaseStudy
Case Study #14 | September 2010
Faith-Based Hospital, Minnesota
Type: Not-for-Profit | Bed Size: 300
The Situation
In the midst of the recent recession, this community-
focused hospital was providing a vast amount of
uncompensated care. The patient accounts staff knew that
a significant percentage of patients were disadvantaged and
would be eligible for financial assistance. However, to
make eligibility determinations, the hospital was relying on
patients to complete paper applications. The return rate on
the necessary paperwork was dismal, and the hospital was
writing off millions of dollars as bad debt that should have
been better classified as charity care.
By referring these accounts to collection, the hospital was
negatively impacting relations with its patients. Moreover,
the provider was not only seeing its bad debt climb quarter
after quarter, but was also significantly under-reporting its
community benefits. Like all not-for-profit providers, the
hospital was under increasing pressure to demonstrate the
fulfillment of its community benefit obligations and justify
its tax-exempt status.
The Solution
The hospital worked with Avadyne Health to implement
FAsTag, an automated, deliberate, and documentable way
of classifying qualifying balances as financial assistance
discounts.
After a simple setup, the hospital began submitting
accounts for weekly processing via a secure electronic
connection. Using US Census data and other public and
proprietary data sources, FAsTag generates an economic
profile for each guarantor. It then applies the hospital’s
financial assistance policy guidelines to arrive at a discount
recommendation for each account.
Results
The hospital quickly started to notice a drop in bad debt
and an increase in financial assistance numbers. Over time,
as processes were refined, bad debt continued to drop.
A year later, bad debt had fallen from 80% of
uncompensated care to under 55%. Financial assistance,
conversely, had risen from 20% to 45% of total
uncompensated care.
Management was very pleased with its ability to more
accurately report the hospital’s community benefit, and the
staff was glad to see manual processing become an option
--instead of the only option-- to provide financial
assistance to needy patients.
About Avadyne Health
Avadyne Health and its operating divisions H&R
Accounts, MedPay Management Systems and Preferred
Medical Deposit, provide revenue cycle management
services to a wide range of healthcare providers across the
nation.
From third party claim resolution to self-pay billing and
collections, no other company offers the same
combination of maximum revenue-to-cash conversion,
respect for the patient, regulatory compliance, and ease of
use.
To Learn More:
To schedule a call to discuss our services with any of our
Account Executives, please contact:
Susy Hughes, Client Services Specialist
E: SHughes@avadynehealth.com
T: 800-973-9890