New York Times Critical of Hospital Collections

Collection agencies are usually never going to look good in a story that pits them against the sick and hospitalized. Because most of us err on the side of compassion, our hearts go out to the less fortunate when they appear to be battling against big business.

I was worried that this story about healthcare debt collection in the New York Times would be no different. However, the criticism in the article is squarely placed on the healthcare system, and not on the collectors working these accounts.

According to the article, New York tacks a 8.95 percent surcharge on hospital bills to fund charity care; however, many hospitals in the system aren’t administering the charity program correctly.

The article is worth reading as a snapshot of public sentiment regarding healthcare collections (spoiler alert: it’s not great out there). It’s also interesting because, in this and other stories like it, what isn’t brought up is: just how is this hospital-provided healthcare supposed to be paid for? Hospitals have budgets and bottom lines, too.

Several years ago I remember having a conversation with colleagues and the assumed wisdom was: healthcare collections was a different animal because hospitals and doctors’ practices wanted to have better control over their public perception. But with the New York Times suggesting that “state hospitals seem to be especially aggressive collectors” — is that actually still the case?

DECA Financial Services and insideARM.com have just published a new Case Study on the various organizational challenges that healthcare providers and their recovery specialist partners face in today’s economy. To read it, click here.