Welcome to Practice Matters . . .

 

. . . a newsletter designed to keep you informed and your practice running smoothly.  If you have any suggestions for topics you would like covered, please hit reply and give us some suggestions.  Also we are happy to answer any questions you have about a particular topic addressed in the newsletter . . . just give us a call at (706) 613.5171 x300.

FTC DEEMS MEDICAL PRACTICES ARE CREDITORS
RED FLAG RULES for Physician Practices
What does this mean and how will this impact my practice?

In November, 2007, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) along with the federal bank regulatory agencies and the National Credit Union Administration published a notice of final rule-making in the Federal Register finalizing the Identify Theft Red Flags Transactions Act (FACTA).  This act requires financial institutions and creditors to develop and implement a written "identity theft prevention program."

Under FACTA, the term "creditor" is defined as any entity that regularly extends, renews or continues credit; regularly arranges for the extension, renewal or continuation of credit or any assignee of an original creditor.  Bottom line - "Any person providing service or product for which the consumer pays after delivery is a creditor."  The initial implementation date for this ruling was November 2008.  Due to pressure from the AMA and other healthcare organizations the FTC has agreed to a suspension of enforcement until May 1, 2009.  The FTC has not changed its position on the broad reach of the rule "Creditors are defined to include any service provider (such as a physician practice) that does not get paid at time of service."  Also, a "covered account" is any patient account that involves information that is vulnerable to identity theft such as social security numbers.

Learn more about FACTA and the Red Flags to look out for . . .

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Preparing for a New Year of Deductibles

 

Keep in mind with the New Year that 2009 patient deductibles are due.  With today's declining reimbursement patient responsibility portions can easily account for 12-15% of your total collections.  Many patients now have HSA's, higher deductibles and less coverage. 

Keep these rules in mind, even for your long term existing patients as you begin the New Year:

1. Obtain a new copy of the patient's insurance card. We recommend you verify coverage even for Medicare patients.  With the new Medicare HMO plans, many patients have changed their coverage and are not aware they are no longer covered under regular Medicare. (The Medicare HMO plans may have different coverage for the patient and eligibility requirements for the providers.)

2. Call to verify coverage and effective dates.

3. Verify the deductible amount and the patient coinsurance amount due.

4. Work with the patient to collect the patient responsibility portion at time of service. Once a patient leaves your office the chance of collecting the patient responsibility portion drops drastically.  Making payment plans in most cases does not work and eventually creates a negative relationship between the office and the patient, resulting in the patient going elsewhere for their care.

 

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Practice Partners Adopts New Family Members 

At Practice Partners, we like to support worthy causes in the community, and Wade & Toni each recently decided to adopt a new pet in need.  Juno and Wilson were both adopted from local rescue shelters.  Their moms were turned over to the shelters where the puppies were born.  Both are now happy and well loved dogs.  Wade and Toni encourage their friends to support their local animal shelters. Be a great pet owner and spay or neuter your pets!