Can You Still Collect Medical Debt Today?

It’s not always easy knowing where you stand when it comes to medical debt collection And now, the lingering effects of the lockdown and a slow economic recovery make your job harder.

Unfortunately, overdue debt may be an increasingly frequent problem for your practice today. As people still struggle financially with the pandemic, you may be handling more delinquent bills than usual.

Here at Summit A*R, navigating difficult debt has always been our business-as-usual, which is how we know you can collect bad medical debt even in an uncertain economic landscape.

Old or Recent, We Can Recover Medical Debt

One question our clients always ask is this: is there a statute of limitations on medical debt? The short answer is yes; all consumer debts have a statute of limitations that may range between three to ten years.

Once you exceed this statute, you can’t take legal action to recover your debt. But you may still contact your patient about the debt they owe.

In our experience, most cases don’t require the threat of legal action. No one chooses to get sick, and nobody plans to rack up medical debt. In most cases, people want to strike out these debts and pay what they owe.

This perspective helps our team cooperate with your patients in a way that keeps them happy while preserving your practice’s cash flow. While older debt may be harder to handle, our experienced debt specialists are confident they can recover.

Medical Bill Collections Laws in Effect

Medical bill collections laws also dictate how we go about recovering bad debt. Simply put, there are some things we can’t do according to the Federal Trade Commission.

• Harass debtors. No agency may threaten violence, use profane language, or repeatedly call to annoy debtors.
• Lie to customers.An agency can’t bend the truth to get someone to pay up. This means they can’t misrepresent the size of the debt, lie about being a government official or lawyer, or make false claims that the debtor will be arrested.
• Carry out Unfair Methods. A debt collection agency must not deposit a post-dated check early or attempt to collect interest, fees, or other charges on top of what’s allowed by your state.

You would think these rules go without saying, but a small minority of debt collectors take things too far. These aggressive medical collection companies don’t represent an industry of mostly honest debt recovery specialists who, like Summit A*R, approach bad debt with integrity.

Medical debt collection agencies that skirt the law like this give the industry a bad name, and what they do is an insult to everyone involved. Their bad reputation paints us, a friendly debt collection agency, with the same dirty brush.

Meanwhile, harassing people will only frustrate your customers without yielding the results you were expecting. If your customer does pay, they probably won’t be your customer for much longer. They won’t appreciate the fact you relied on intimidation to get what you’re owed.

Is collecting debt worth losing a patient and earning a bad reputation that could cost you more in the future? We don’t believe so.

Aggressive Tactics Are Tone Deaf in Today’s Climate

In times like these, the average person is shouldering lost wages and increased debt. Failure to recognize these unique and incredibly stressful circumstances is needlessly cruel — not to mention a quick way to make an enemy out of your patients. Your inability to sympathize can do irreparable damage to your practice’s reputation.

But that doesn’t mean you should walk away from an outstanding bill, especially as overdue bills may hit harder now that you’re weathering the same financial storm. You owe this to patients who pay their bills. After all, you can’t expect to forgive every debt and continue to provide the same quality care every day. Eventually, you’ll struggle to keep the lights on if you walk away from every overdue bill.

Here at Summit A*R, we see medical collections as a give-and-take; you have a social responsibility to pursue your debt, and your patients have an obligation to pay what they owe.

Medical Revenue Service Debt Collection Strategies with a P.H.D.

We pursue bad debt in a respectful and dignified way that protects your reputation and bottom line. It’s part of our “P.H.D. Philosophy” (Preserve Human Dignity) that dictates we take a diplomatic approach with each account.

This philosophy ensures we always represent your practice with integrity, compassion, and professionalism. While collecting bad debt is integral to practices like yours, we won’t turn you into the bad guy for getting what’s yours.

Our techniques aren’t just kinder; they’re also more successful. In fact, we boast a recovery rate that’s twice the national average.

We’re a Transparent Medical Collection Agency

Here at Summit A*R, we keep no secrets. We ensure all the work we put into your debt recovery efforts is visible on our fully HIPAA-compliant portal. With a few clicks, you can download reports, review payment activity, and even place new accounts for collections.

We’ve made it easy to check-in on our progress at any time because we believe in transparency. It’s your right to know how successful we are.

How Will it Take Us to Recover Bad Medical Debt?

On average, we wrap up our medical revenue debt collection services within 90 days. While some cases may resolve faster, others take longer. At that point, we’ll rely on industry resources to make sure we get the job done, such as credit reporting and skip tracing.

As a top medical collection agency, we can report your patients’ delinquent bills to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. This is a wake-up call for stubborn cases, as their credit score may plummet as a result of their payment history. And if we can’t locate your patient after they’ve moved, our licensed private investigators will be able to track them down.

All in all, we’re confident we can help you recover bad debt and balance the books, even in times like these. If you’re ready to reclaim the money that’s owed to you, get in touch soon. One of our debt specialists will be able to talk you through your options today.