How the Professionals Resolve Collection Disputes

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​What happens when a patient disputes a medical debt?

Should you allow a collection agency or accounts receivable firm to handle patient disputes?

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How the Professionals Resolve Collection Disputes

Should Dispute Resolution
Be Left to the Professionals?

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What happens when a patient disputes a medical debt? Should you allow a collection agency or accounts receivable firm to handle patient disputes?

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Yes, you should. And here’s why:  Reputable collection and A/R management firms not only budget time to handle disputes, they also train their staff extensively in best practices for dispute resolution.

Let’s look at how the professionals might handle disputed accounts.​

Walk a Mile in Their Shoes

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A reputable firm will err on the side of caution and treat all potential disputes equally, even those for which they have little or no information. They’ll place themselves in the patient’s shoes and treat them as they’d want to be treated.
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​It's important to note that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) does not differentiate between written and verbal disputes. So in order to avoid the potential for legal issues, it’s best to identify all types of patient objections as “disputes.”

This ensures that these situations are properly managed right from the start.

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Who Handles Disputes?

Healthcare A/R management firms may have designated staff to handle disputes, particularly those involving insurance claims. Or they may extensively train all staff members in best practices for defusing disputed accounts.
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Every individual who works with collection disputes must be an empathetic listener. They also should be very familiar with the specific documentation each creditor client can provide, in the event a debt is disputed.
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Dispute Resolution Process

If the disputed account is significantly past due, and has gone into “collection” mode, the debt collector should first verify that the patient received a Debt Validation Letter. (See sidebar.) If the patient’s mailing address is not current, he may not have received this notice within the 30-day validation period. 

​A reputable collector will give the patient the benefit of the doubt if they claim that the validation was not received. This simple gesture of good faith can make the patient more willing to resolve the debt.

For any disputed account, whether past due or not, the debt collector must obtain proper debt documentation from the creditor client. This extra information helps the collection agent to determine if the dispute is legitimate.  

When the collector and patient are able to review a medical bill together over the phone, they can often clear up any confusion the patient may have. Simply explaining the details of the bill often helps to resolve a debt.

During this step, the collector must not only ask questions, but must listen with the intention of finding a solution. If communication with the patient is clear and open, it’s easier for the collector to tag the exact issue that requires resolution.

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From there, the collector can review alternatives based on common ground, and propose solutions. After the collector and the patient have agreed upon a solution, both parties should commit to a resolution deadline.
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Client Communication

Reputable A/R management firms will keep their creditor clients apprised of the status of each dispute. But they will avoid excessive calls to their clients, which could be both confusing and annoying.

Informing creditors of a collection dispute as it unfolds can help them to avoid similar situations and can make collecting on future accounts easier for everyone.  

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Sources:
Featured image: Pixabay
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