Budget Band-Aids

It's common to think of financing when it comes to buying big-ticket items like a house or a car, but what about paying for medical expenses, which have been steadily rising for years?

Higher-deductible insurance plans are shifting more costs onto patients, and the trend has prompted medical practices to expand the financing options they offer to the people they treat, according to Mary Ellen Corum, director of practice support at the Pennsylvania Medical Society.

Midstate providers offer a variety of financing options to help patients pay their bills, and they attribute the demand for those options to rising deductibles.

"High-deductible health plans push the financial burden to the patient and therefore cause patients to have higher balances," Corey B. Meyer, director of patient access and virtual health at Lancaster General Health/ Penn Medicine said. "We continue to investigate new options for patients that have higher balances because of these trends."

Options abound

The most common financing option is for patients to set up payment plans with their providers, similar to the no-interest plans people might use when buying furniture or appliances.

LGH/Penn Medicine offers a zero percent interest plan to all patients. Timelines for repayment range from two months to 24 months, depending on the size of the balance, according to Meyer.

At Harrisburg-based PinnacleHealth System, patients can spread out payments if the balance will be paid off in three months or less. Otherwise, the -account goes to California-based ClearBalance, which provides patient loan programs to U.S. hospitals and health systems.

"What's nice with the ClearBalance program is that you can add amounts to it, including those from PinnacleHealth Hospitals," Patrice Taleff, vice president of revenue cycle at PinnacleHealth said.

Other options at most hospitals in the midstate include financial assistance programs, which offer a discount to patients who meet certain financial criteria.

Some practices also use CareCredit, which is a credit card designed for health care financing.

Patients can also pay with their personal credit cards.

The unpaid balance

Ihe push to help patients pay their bills is two-fold - patients who may not otherwise be able to afford treatment now have payment options, and the providers might actually get paid.

As Taleff put it - it's a win-win for everybody.

Yet despite the options, medical practices continue to see a rise in unpaid medical bills.

"Credit or no credit, the money that's owed by patients to physicians' offices is increasing," Corum said.

So, aside from providing patients with payment options, practices also are notifying patients of their choices.

A new regulation, enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act, will require all nonprofits that operate more than one hospital to meet four new requirements, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

The regulation requires each health care facility to establish financial assistance and emergency medical care policies, and to limit the amount charged to individuals who are eligible for financial assistance under those policies.

Hospitals are also required to help individuals determine if they are eligible for financial assistance, or discounts based on their income and family size, as well as conduct a community health needs assessment and implement a strategy to address its findings at least once every' three y'ear

"We have to make every' patient aware of our financial assistance program," Harry' Park, director of customer service and collections at York-based WellSpan Health System.

At PinnacleHealth, an estimated 15-20 percent of patients are using some form of financing option, according to Taleff.

"The catastrophic level of health care is largely unplanned," Meyer said. "By that I mean most people don't have money'sitting around to deal with unexpected health care needs." *