Giving a patient medications in the ER, having them pop positive on a test, and then withholding further medications because…
Morning Headlines 7/25/23
NextGen Healthcare Reports Fiscal 2024 First Quarter Results
NextGen Healthcare reports a 16% uptick in Q1 revenue as well as an increase in earnings, beating analyst expectations for both.
Cigna Sued Over Algorithm Allegedly Used To Deny Coverage To Hundreds Of Thousands Of Patients
A pair of plaintiffs in California file a class-action lawsuit against Cigna over its alleged practice of wrongfully rejecting claims in mere seconds using an automated system.
Axxess Acquires Complia Health
Home healthcare technology company Axxess acquires competitor Complia Health for an undisclosed sum.
Collectly wants to make paying healthcare bills easier so medical providers don’t lose $200B
Patient billing startup Collectly raises $29 million in a Series A funding round.
I’m always curious and a little suspicious when I see someone saying “if we just make it easier for patients to pay their bills, they will”. Is that really the barrier? Are there patients out there sitting on stacks of cash saying “if only I had a web portal to pay this through”?
Small practices can increase their payments by outsourcing their billing & collections because a dedicated medical billing company will do a better job following up on bills. How much of Collectly’s increased payment rate is actually based on their proprietary interfaces and how much is just based on the fact that they’re a dedicated medical billing / collections company?
For many, it isn’t the ability to pay, its the ability to navigate and trust the bills. My last hospital stay, I didn’t pay once cent until I had an EOB that I could match with each bill. If they matched, and I believed they were correct, I would pay them. Too many times I’ve had errors I had to work through. One facility coded/billed me for private room, when they don’t offer semi-private rooms. My insurance says they don’t pay for private rooms. I had to get the insurance company and the facility on the phone to work it out. Insurance paid. Another time when I was dang near unconscious, a group of doctors came into the room to consult. I didn’t interview each of them and ensured they took my insurance. When I got bills from MD’s not supported by my plan, I had to dispute it with the facility and the MD’s office. THIS IS WHY MANY PEOPLE DON’T PAY, or SLOW PAY.
Inscrutable bills are a feature and not a bug.
And even when they weren’t intended to be inscrutable, one suspects the organization is insufficiently motivated to improve the situation. How many patients would change hospitals/providers in order to get transparent, accurate billing? Not too many.