Insurance Deductibles

Collecting deductibles is often a difficult task for any medical practice.  It is much easier to collect payment from a patient who is currently in the office to see the doctor, rather than a patient who receives a bill.  There are many patients who are unaware of what a deductible is, and refuse to pay the bill that they get in the mail, not matter what!  It helps to try to collect part of the deductible amount while the patient is in the office, and to have a notice placed in waiting room and front desk as to the practice's deductible policy.  Below is a notice that we gave to our practices to post in the waiting room/front desk area.

NOTICE



Welcome to the New Year.  As you know, with each New Year new insurance deductibles apply.  It is one of the more frustrating parts of medicine that with the arrival of each New Year, the application of deductibles replaces a significant amount of our insurance payments.  At this time of year, our cash flow is overly dependent on the collection of these deductibles.  As a practice, we utilize the best available online systems to determine our patient's individual obligations.  Unfortunately, this information is often incomplete.  It is the patient's responsibility to understand and honor this aspect of your insurance coverage.  Your deductible is due at the time of service.  If your insurance does not have a deductible, please be patient with our staff should they mistakenly ask you for a payment towards a deductible.

****Medicare Deductible for 2012 is $140.  Please be aware that many secondary insurance policies now have deductibles and/or do not pick up the Medicare deductible.