The vast majority of hospitals—97 percent—participating in HFMA’s most recent Healthcare Financial Pulse study reported an increase in self-pay receivables compared with the prior fiscal year. At more than one-third of these hospitals, the increase was 10 percent or greater. The study found that small hospitals were most likely to experience a self-pay increase of this magnitude.
The increase in self-pay receivables is a significant factor in hospital financial performance. Receivables are growing faster than patient revenue at almost one-third of hospitals that participated in the study.
To address these trends, more than seven in 10 respondents are devoting moderate or substantial efforts toward point-of-service collection. Many cite difficulty in estimating the cost of services as the most significant barrier to more extensive point-of-service collections.
View the Healthcare Financial Pulse study results.
