We Need a Bolder Solution to Consumer Education
As I read the CFPB’s report on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), I had a thought about the importance of consumer education, but the futility of current efforts at it.
insideARM on Forbes
insideARM.com has launched a regular blog space on Forbes.com, called The Business of Receivables, at http://blogs.forbes.com/insidearm/. We have established this forum in order to provide Forbes readers with niche expertise and opinion that could not possibly be covered by their staff, and to expand the presence of insideARM.com to mainstream media with significant business executive readership.
Our posts on Forbes will be from a variety of authors. While they will be related to the topic of receivables, these articles will be geared for a more general audience than those here on insideARM.com. We welcome your participation in this blog. If you have topic suggestions or would like to submit a post, contact us (www.insidearm.com/about/about-contact-us).
Could In-Room Pet Visits Improve Hospitals’ Bottom Lines?
insideARM.com published a new blog on Forbes.com today entitled The ‘Dogtor’ Will See You Now: Creative Solutions to Consumer-Driven Healthcare Challenges. In it chief content officer Michael Klozotsky argues that as healthcare provider organizations work to more effectively manage the revenue cycle and at the same time compete for patients’ wallet share in order to get paid, they must think outside the box for ways to win “customer loyalty” and become providers of choice, even in an industry like healthcare that seems to be driven by necessity rather than consumer preference.
New Patent Could Turn U.S. Debt Portfolio Market on its Ear
insideARM.com published a story this morning on its Forbes.com blog–The Business of Receivables–regarding the announcement of a patent issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to TriCap Technology Group. TriCap owns the open market debt portfolio exchange platform, ARxChange.
The new patent (# 8234209) has material implications for the U.S. debt markets as a whole, and specifically for any ARM company that buys delinquent debt or services purchased delinquent accounts.
Debt Collection Stocks Enjoying a Pretty Good Quarter
All four of the publicly traded debt buying stocks on the NASDAQ exchange are up so far in the second quarter, compared to the broader market, which is down.
insideARM on Forbes: Accretive Health Stock Bruised on AG Report
Not sure if any of you noticed yesterday, but Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson published a six-volume report on the practices of non-profit hospital and clinic operator Fairview Health Services and one of its service providers, ARM firm Accretive Health, Inc. The report focused on a broad range of issues, but the debt collection and payment practices caught the most attention. Unsurprisingly, Accretive’s stock fell more than 40 percent Wednesday. Read our analysis on Forbes.com.
insideARM on Forbes: Small Biz Advice from a $2B CEO
Earlier this week, following the historic merger of NCO Group, Inc. and APAC Customer Services, Inc., Ron Rittenmeyer, CEO of Expert Global Solutions–the holding company parent that will oversee the two entities–granted an exclusive interview with insideARM.com about the deal itself, the future course of the newly formed organization, and perspectives on changes in the [...]
insideARM.com on Forbes: The Myth of the Debt Collection Boom
Well, well, well: if it isn’t our good friend and Senior Editor Patrick Lunsford over on Forbes.com. What’s he got for us today? “Reading some recent headlines on the debt collection industry would leave some with the impression that the business is booming. But just as with most businesses in the U.S., debt collectors have [...]
insideARM.com on Forbes: Michael Klozotsky on Debt Collectors as “Chopped” Liver
Last week’s big regualtory news–the CFPB’s newly proposed rule to include debt collectors and consumer reporting agencies under its nonbank supervision program–created a minor media frenzy around the ARM industry. Almost every major media outlet published something on the subject. And like Lenny & Squiggy (thanks Mike Bevel) or Slip-n-Slides & Jell-O (thanks Patrick Lunsford), as [...]
insideARM.com on Forbes: Mike Bevel on Dickens and Debt
There’s a strong connection between Charles Dickens and debt — from characters like Mr Micawber in David Copperfield and the absolutely villainous Harold Skimploe in Bleak House to Dickens’s own childhood spent supporting his family while his father was in debtors’ prison.
Creditors Play an Unrecognized and Powerful Role in the Debt Collection Process
Maybe the CFPB should consider a seldom-discussed dynamic that is an important driver for upstanding debt collection agencies: the role that creditors play in the behavior of their agency vendors.