Ask for Payment Over the Counter
Situation:
Accounts receivable is more than one month of production and too little is collected at the time of service, impacting cash flow and bill payment. The cost of billing patients is high and takes a great deal of time
Desired Result:
Increase same day of service collections so that 20-40% of the accounts receivable is current collections. Therefore if you had $100,000 in total accounts receivable, $20,000 to $40,000 is less than 30 days old.
How To:
Prepare for today’s patients by understanding their insurance and calculating their anticipated co-payment.
-“Today’s visit was $357, your portion is $112, will you be taking care of that with cash, check or credit card”
- PAUSE and ALLOW THE PATIENT TO RESPOND
- Notice we did not suggest saying “would you like to pay with cash, check, or credit card.” Don’t ask a question you might not like the answer to – the patient could potentially say “no I would prefer not to pay today”.
- Be prepared for your practice’s common objections. One we frequently hear is:
–“Just send me a bill, I’ll pay after insurance pays.”
Here are Some Suggestions:
“For our patients who are fortunate to have dental insurance benefits, we submit your insurance claim at the time of service, at no cost to you. For those that request we receive payment for their portion after insurance has paid, we require a credit or debit card on file.”
“Most insurance companies make payment to us within 30 days. The balance, not paid by your dental benefits, will be billed to your credit card once we receive insurance payment. In all cases, as the patient, you will receive an explanation of benefits (E.O.B.) before our practice. This will inform you of the portion not covered by your dental benefits. We will mail you a copy of your credit card receipt when we bill your card.”
“If we have not received payment from your insurance company within 45 days we will call you to get involved with us in collecting from your insurance company. If for some reason we have not received payment from your insurance company 60 days (2 months) after the date of your receipt of services, we will bill your credit card for the full amount.”
“If you would like to handle payment after insurance has paid, let’s complete this paperwork.”
Have the patient complete a form with the necessary information to bill their credit or debit card. If you would like a sample form, contact us
and we will be happy to send you one.
