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Primary Care Coding Alert

Reader question:

Check State Laws, Payer Rules Before Sending Patient to Collections

Published on Mon Feb 06, 2012

Question: I work in a physician's office handling the collection of past due copays, deductibles, and coinsurance as well as the coding and claims. Can I send extremely delinquent accounts to the credit bureau or a collections agency, even if the patient is paying a few dollars a month, if the practice didn't agree to a payment plan?Nevada SubscriberAnswer: Yes, you can send information about delinquent accounts to collections agencies and/or credit bureaus -- even if the patient is making a token attempt to pay up. If the patient is following a repayment schedule that you haven't approved, then you have the right to insist on a quicker repayment. How it works: If a patient is paying a small amount every month that was not approved, many practices do send them to collections, and the collection agency may or may not report them to the credit bureau.Check your own state's laws [...]
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