4 Kinds of Medical Debt Collection

Medical debt collection is any situation where a healthcare worker or facility must rely on a collection agency to recover funds. In many situations, this occurs because patients cannot pay their medical bills, but not in every situation. 

In either case, hospitals and clinics require income to stay in operation. As such, with medical debt collection, no patients would be able to get the treatment they require. Here are five examples of medical debt collection to better understand what medical collection is and why it is a vital service to health care.

Patient Debt

Patient debt, sometimes called self-pay debt, refers to situations where a patient has received care from a medical professional or facility but does not have health insurance coverage or a high deductible resulting in a situation where they owe a large amount of money on their own. If a patient is responsible for paying a medical bill but cannot afford it, they often allow their bills to go overdue. In this case, the medical provider should contact a collection agency to help resolve that debt issue. 

Insurance Debt

Sometimes when a medical provider seeks payment from an insurance provider, they cannot get the requested funds. In such cases, the insurance provider may refuse to pay based on an incomplete or incorrect application or because a patient must be covered for the requested expenses. Given this situation, it is best to work with a compassionate medical collection agency that values ethical practices in every kind of debt recovery. 

Workers’ Compensation Debt

Another situation where a medical provider may be unable to acquire the money they are owed for the care of a patient is the case of workers’ compensation debt. Workers’ compensation is a resource for employees who are injured while performing a job. Often workers can access insurance benefits through workers’ compensation to pay for their treatment. 

As in the case of regular medical insurance debt, the insurance company that provides workers’ compensation medical payments might refuse the claim. In this case, the medical provider will usually first appeal the case and contact a debt collection agency for help if that appeal is unsuccessful. 

Dental Care Debt

As with other medical care, dentists also face situations where they are unable to recover money from patients. Whether you are a dentist running your own practice or you are employed in any other capacity in the healthcare field, you can always get help from an ethical debt collection professional when you are missing out on income due to missed payments. 

The Benefit of an Ethical Medical Collection Team 

Collecting unpaid debt from delinquent patients is a delicate situation. Just because patients do not have the health insurance plan they need to receive treatment for a bad injury or illness doesn’t mean they should go without medical care. That’s why you want to work with a team you can trust to never resort to harassment or intimidation tactics in debt recovery. 

If you’re a healthcare professional or you’re employed by a medical facility that is facing lost income due to medical debt, contact an ethical debt collection team for help today.