Why Is Healthcare Billing So Slow?
You’re probably no stranger to the typical, painstaking medical billing process. On a traditional health insurance plan, patients are responsible for the co-pay, coinsurance, and deductible. The co-pay is taken care of at the time of a healthcare visit, but coinsurance and deductible fees arrive later down the road—sometimes way down the road. In a technologically advanced society where almost every other transaction is instantaneous, why on earth do medical bills take so long? Let’s go on a journey…
A Bill is Born
When you receive treatment at a healthcare facility, the provider verifies your insurance coverage, then submits a claim to your insurance company. Patient responsibility varies based on whether the provider is in the patient’s insurance network and the corresponding rules of the insurance company. Even when in network, various healthcare providers have different types of contracts with a patient’s insurance company, some of which are more difficult to navigate than others. Contract confusion, as well as missing invoices or incorrectly recorded patient information, can result in delays and even reprocessing.
A Bill Waits…And Then Waits Some More
Processing delays can leave patients waiting for months. If a patient receives multiple services in one visit (such as examination from multiple doctors, hospital services, and lab tests), wait times rise even higher.
Hospital Bills—A Whole Different Species
Hospital bills are more complex than general medical bills. Typically, each hospital department bills individually. Oftentimes, these bills don’t even arrive at the same time, leaving a patient to pay bills one at a time over the course of several months. Processing bills costs hospitals money, which they end up charging to the patients. And guess what? Even if a patient’s hospital bill is ridiculously late, a patient won’t receive a discount or be relieved of the bill. That doesn’t seem fair—it’s not the patient’s fault the bill was so late.
Get Rid of Late Bills
Want to know how to take care of your medical bills instantaneously and cut costs? Pay upfront in full for your procedures, a.k.a. “self-pay.” When you self-pay, you’ll typically be offered a significant discount on the medical service, and there is no lengthy claims process. Worried about covering a self-paid bill in full? The good news is you don’t have to. Start reimburses members a fixed amount (Start Beneft Amount) for medical services and visits. What exactly does this mean? Using Start’s search tool, members can search for procedures and providers in their area. Because Start members are not bound by network, they can see any provider they’d like. In the app, members can see the Start Benefit Amount beforehand, so they know exactly how much they are paying out of pocket after they determine provider pricing—no guessing. Members simply choose a provider, pay the self-pay total in full with their Start Benefit Card, then upload their receipts for speedy reimbursement. No more dealing with excruciating claims processes and surprise bills.
The lifespan of a medical bill is too long and too costly. It is a long-standing, unnecessary complexity of traditional health insurance. Use Start to make your healthcare, simple, better, different.
Source:
“Why Can It Take So Long…”
Knoxville Hospital and Clinics
