Bad Debt

What is the standard industry definition for bad debt percentage?

Recommendations crafted by HFMA's Medical Debt Task Force are intended to improve the medical account resolution process for patients and providers alike. The best practices provide guidance on resolving financial obligations before, during, and after a patient visits a hospital or other healthcare setting.

HFMA partnered with ACA International and gathered a task force of stakeholders to establish best practices for the fair resolution of patients' medical bills. The stakeholders represented include a diverse group of providers, consumer advocates, collections agencies, and credit bureaus.

States--not CMS--have regulations in place related to timely patient notification of the availability of financial assistance/charity, as well as a statement that includes a summary of charges.

 Q Our FI is currently disallowing our Medicare bad debts which we claimed and wrote off in accordance with our charity care policy. We believe our Medicare deductible copay amounts that we did not collect because the patient was indigent

If Medicaid contractualizes all or some of the amount deemed as coinsurance by Medicare, can the contractual amount be claimed as part of the bad debt on the cost report? Or, are we only able to claim the amount that Medicaid notes as being the copay or deductible on the cost report?

Early out percentage for bad debt collection agency.

Formulas you can use as a guide to gauge uncompensated care costs within your organization.

Real-life spreadsheets, policies, and other resources that you can download and start using—today!