nTelagent Launches Service to Lower Hospital Self-Pay Bad Debt

With the economy in the doldrums and unemployment on the rise, the number of uninsured and underinsured Americans is sure to rise. The combination is a recipe for more medical bad debt, unless hospitals that treat those patients help them find financial assistance programs that will help pay the bills.

nTelagent says its new partnership with Social Service Coordinators, (SSC) Inc. can help hospitals and their patients do just that.  nTelagent of Nashville will provide real-time analytics through its Self-Pay Management System service. Hospitals can use the system to first identify patients who may qualify for financial assistance based on their demographics and medical condition (“Self-Pay Patients Don’t Have to Become Bad Debt Write Offs: nTelagent,” May 1).  SSC, based in Milford, Conn., will search over 4,000 social service programs and try to match patients for assistance based on the programs criteria for aide.

“Inconsistencies in charity care policies will continue to grow as the uninsured and underinsured populations rise," Alan R. Flaumenhaft, founder and CEO of SSC said in a press release. "This partnership with nTelagent will dramatically benefit these patients and their providers.”

nTelagent Chief Executive Earl Winter said many hospitals try to help patients apply for Medicaid who say they can’t pay their bills. But many patients don’t apply until after they leave the hospital, he said. And then, it could be weeks before a hospital finds out if the application was approved.

Winters said one advantage of the partnership is that patients can apply for assistance from several programs at the point of service. In many cases, only the patient’s name and address is needed to apply. Hospitals know within 48 hours if a patient qualifies for assistance.

“We don’t use credit information,” Winter said. “We have demographic market data that grabs patients’ personal information, including the number in the household.”

After eligibility is determined, SSC provides ongoing support to patients to help them obtain the benefits, including making sure all pertinent application questions are answered and documentation is provided. SSC also provides the hospital with daily reports about the status of the patient’s application, said Winter. 

According to Winter, hospitals have lost out on millions in patient financial assistance because of incomplete applications, missing documentation, or because hospital administrators or the accounts receivable management professionals they use didn’t know the programs existed. He cited Medicare’s 1011 program, which reimburses hospitals for treating undocumented citizens. 

“Only one state, Massachusetts, used all of their 1011 money,” Winter said. “Forty nine states didn’t use their funds.”

Winter said hospitals are charged a percentage of the money collected through the service. But it’s only available to those who use nTelagent’s Self-Pay Management System.