Why Healthcare Facilities Need to Focus on Their Core Competencies

The healthcare industry is reeling. Treating a growing number of patients suffering from a virus in the middle of a global pandemic while unable to perform elective procedures has placed hospitals and healthcare facilities in dire straits. Hospitals are projected to lose more than $300 billion this year, according to projections released by the American Hospital Association. That is a chunk of money that will take years to recover, if it is ever recovered at all. Healthcare facilities are laying off staff and cutting back wherever they can to help keep their doors open and make ends meet. This is a time for them to focus on what they do best and not be distracted by other, non-core competencies that take the focus away from treating patients and keeping the lights on.

Collecting on bad debt is not a core competency for most companies in the healthcare industry. Many companies try to do it on their own — and some are better at it than others — but collecting money has never been a strong suit for healthcare companies. A report released earlier this year revealed that 80% of healthcare providers are not able to recover balances of $1,000 or more, and more providers are growing concerned about their unpaid receivables.

Making matters even more problematic is the millions of individuals across the country who have lost their healthcare insurance because of the coronavirus pandemic. Those are people who are going to have to pay out-of-pocket for their visits and that could lead to a lot more healthcare bills on the horizon.

Couple the importance of recovering every dollar possible with the strained resources inside healthcare practices and that creates an equation where collection agencies are the solution. Collection agencies specialize in working with individuals in difficult financial positions and helping them navigate their way out of debt. Collection agencies specialize in collecting with empathy and compassion, characteristics that are more important now than ever before.

For healthcare facilities to weather this financial storm and be able to survive, they are going to have to make smart business decisions. One of the smartest they can make is to outsource their bad debt collection to companies that specialize in this area. Not only will it free up resources to allow the provider to focus on other areas of its business, but it will also likely lead to more money for the provider in the long run.