Bottom line blues

By Karen Caffarini
American Medical News
November 17, 2008
Medical Group Management Assn. members were asked to name the tasks their practices found most challenging.
50.1% Collect from self-pay, high deductible and/or health savings account patients
28.7% Collect from commercial payers
14.5% Collect from Medicare
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/11/17/bisa1117.htm

Medical groups certainly have many challenges, but one of the more important is getting paid. This survey of Medical Group Management Association members provides some important lessons.
Twice as many groups found that collecting from private health insurers was very challenging compared to the challenge of collecting from Medicare. This is not a surprise. Previous studies have confirmed that private insurers do place a significant administrative burden on the health care delivery system. It is difficult to comply with the various rules and procedures of a multitude of private plans, especially when those plans use innovative methods to delay (work the float) or avoid altogether paying claims for legitimate services.
Medicare does contribute to a lesser degree to this burden. Medicare is much more consistent in applying their rules, and they do not engage in behavior designed to avoid paying for services rendered in good faith. But Medicare does add to the complexity by using rules and administrative procedures that differ from those of the private plans. If Medicare were the only payer, the one set of rules designed to pay for legitimate services would greatly simplify the process for the providers of health care.
Much has been written about how out-of-pocket expenses have impaired access to beneficial health care products and services. Although cost sharing has caused some patients to decline services that they perceive to be of marginal value, many have also declined services that they know they should have. Many in the policy community oppose cost sharing because it is a blunt instrument that impairs access, and because it has only a negligible impact on our total health care spending.
This survey reveals another problem with patient cost sharing. Medical groups have found that collecting the patients’ share of the payments has been even more challenging. About twice as many groups find that this is a challenge compared to that of collecting from private insurers, and almost four times as many as that of collecting from Medicare. Cost sharing represents another excessive, inappropriate administrative burden placed on the health care delivery system.
The solution? A single payer national health program. (Yes, this is repetitive, but isn’t anyone listening?)

By Karen Caffarini
American Medical News
November 17, 2008

Medical Group Management Assn. members were asked to name the tasks their practices found most challenging.

50.1% Collect from self-pay, high deductible and/or health savings account patients

28.7% Collect from commercial payers

14.5% Collect from Medicare

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/11/17/bisa1117.htm

Comment:

By Don McCanne, MD

Medical groups certainly have many challenges, but one of the more important is getting paid. This survey of Medical Group Management Association members provides some important lessons.

Twice as many groups found that collecting from private health insurers was very challenging compared to the challenge of collecting from Medicare. This is not a surprise. Previous studies have confirmed that private insurers do place a significant administrative burden on the health care delivery system. It is difficult to comply with the various rules and procedures of a multitude of private plans, especially when those plans use innovative methods to delay (work the float) or avoid altogether paying claims for legitimate services.

Medicare does contribute to a lesser degree to this burden. Medicare is much more consistent in applying their rules, and they do not engage in behavior designed to avoid paying for services rendered in good faith. But Medicare does add to the complexity by using rules and administrative procedures that differ from those of the private plans. If Medicare were the only payer, the one set of rules designed to pay for legitimate services would greatly simplify the process for the providers of health care.

Much has been written about how out-of-pocket expenses have impaired access to beneficial health care products and services. Although cost sharing has caused some patients to decline services that they perceive to be of marginal value, many have also declined services that they know they should have. Many in the policy community oppose cost sharing because it is a blunt instrument that impairs access, and because it has only a negligible impact on our total health care spending.

This survey reveals another problem with patient cost sharing. Medical groups have found that collecting the patients’ share of the payments has been even more challenging. About twice as many groups find that this is a challenge compared to that of collecting from private insurers, and almost four times as many as that of collecting from Medicare. Cost sharing represents another excessive, inappropriate administrative burden placed on the health care delivery system.

The solution? A single payer national health program. (Yes, this is repetitive, but isn’t anyone listening?)