Hospitals Offer Discounts, Credit Cards to Reduce Unpaid Bills

While not quite at the “After 10 organ transplants – get the 11th free!” punch-card level yet, hospitals are turning to more and more creative ways of getting patients to pay their bills – and, thereby, decreasing the hits hospitals are taking in the wallet.

According to a report released by Fitch, about $300 million in hospital charges couldn't be collected last year – either because insurance wouldn’t cover various procedures, patients who don't pay their deductibles and co- payments, or because of uninsured patient care.

Steps taken by hospitals in the way of recouping these losses include upfront collections of co- payments and expanded screening of patients to find those who qualify for Medicaid and other assistance programs, according to Fitch Ratings.

Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. joined with UnitedHealth Group Inc., the largest U.S. health insurer, for a pilot program giving the insurer a discount if it pays a patient's deductibles and co-payments and then collects the money, the report said.

UnitedHealth's collection efforts include using policyholders' flexible spending accounts and deducting regular payments from their paychecks.

LifePoint Hospitals Inc. helps some patients without insurance get a credit card in exchange for paying a portion of their bills up front.

Ultimately, though, the Fitch report recommends that hospitals write off the bad debt rather than tough it out in the hopes of collecting.