Just as the government went into partial shutdown, the ACA insurance exchanges opened on Tuesday, October 1, 2013. (You can check out Maryland’s exchange, the “Maryland Health Connection” here: https://www.marylandhealthconnection.gov/). While it is difficult to anticipate the exact effects that your practice will see from the implementation of the exchanges and the newly insured, the article below – written by consultant Elizabeth Woodcock – provides practical information on the subject. In a nutshell, Ms. Woodcock advises:
Ultimately, your best course of action during this new era of insurance coverage is to: 1) Conduct financial clearance on every patient at every visit; 2) Be diligent about collecting time of service payments; collect all copayments; and create a system to capture deductibles at the point of care – or alternatively collect minimum deposits for services to patients who have not yet met their annual deductibles; 3) Streamline your patient collections process to reduce the time to payment for patients with out-of-pocket financial responsibility; 4) Keep an eagle-eye out for communications from your current line-up of insurers; and 5) Inquire about payment rates for any exchange plans of which you find yourself part.
For the full content of Ms. Woodcock’s article, visit:
Insurance Exchanges: The Impact on Your Practice
https://elizabethwoodcock.com/newsletter/2013/10/01/insurance-exchanges-the-impact-on-your-practice/
