E/M Coding Alert - 2012 Issue 11
Writeoffs: Keep Your Practice Out of Hot Water By Knowing When You Can -- and Can't -- Write Off a Patient Balance
Subscribe or sign in to view the full article.
Article Overview
This article explains general compliance considerations for practices that want to waive or write off patient balances. It focuses on collection policies, documenting attempts to collect, handling financial hardship situations, and avoiding inconsistent billing practices that could create payer, audit, or regulatory concerns. The content is aimed at billing staff, coders, and practice managers who handle patient financial responsibility and write-off decisions.
Why This Topic Matters
Patient balance write-offs can create compliance risk if a practice lacks a documented, consistently applied collection policy or if waivers are handled in a way that conflicts with payer requirements. Understanding the general boundaries helps practices reduce audit exposure and maintain fair, defensible billing workflows.
Article Sections
-
Scenario and Billing Dilemma
Introduces a practice situation involving patients affected by a local business closure and a proposed approach to handling unpaid balances. Sets up the compliance and collections issues discussed in the article.
-
1. Avoid Potentially Fraudulent Exceptions
Discusses general concerns about routine balance waivers, documentation of collection efforts, and the compliance risks that can arise when practices do not make a good faith attempt to collect.
-
2. Keep Financial Hardship Proof If You Do Waive Payments
Covers the role of financial hardship in write-off decisions and the need to document hardship-related support before considering a balance waiver.
-
3. Be Consistent in Your Collection Processes
Focuses on applying the same collection policy across patients and maintaining written procedures for exceptions and write-off handling.
-
Bottom Line and Final Caution
Summarizes the importance of equal treatment and warns that repeated blanket write-off practices can draw compliance scrutiny.
What You Will Learn
- How patient balance write-offs can create compliance risk
- Why practices need documented collection efforts
- What general information may be gathered when evaluating financial hardship
- Why consistent billing and collections policies matter
- How payer participation status can affect patient billing and write-off handling
Who Should Read This
- Medical billers
- Coders
- Practice managers
- Compliance staff
- Revenue cycle staff
Subscribe or sign in to view the full article.
Quick, Current, Complete - www.findacode.com