Financial Assistance for Patients When patients are unable to pay for hospital services they fall into a category known as uncompensated care.  It’s an important subject in the health care world, because any services that a facility provides at no cost needs to be recuperated in some way.  Uncompensated care is comprised of charity care and bad debt. Charity Care vs Bad Debt Most hospitals offer care to some patients …Read More

Reducing What’s Owed on a Patient’s Bill A Contractual Adjustment is a part of a patient’s bill that a doctor or hospital must write-off (not charge for) because of billing agreements with the insurance company.  Adjustments, or write-off’s, are the dollars that are adjusted off a patient account for any reason. The Contractual Adjustment is the most common type of adjustment. Just as an insurer and policyholder enter a contract …Read More

Unique 4 Digit Numbers Medical coding and billing is a complex procedure.  That’s where Revenue Codes come into play to help make the whole process smoother and universal. In short, Revenue Codes are descriptions and dollar amounts charged for hospital services provided to a patient.  The revenue code tells an insurance company whether the procedure was performed in the emergency room, operating room or another department. 3 Different Sets of …Read More

It’s Not Your Age that Matters  The Birthday Rule is a term used by the health insurance industry to determine coverage for children whose parents have different plans.  The basic understanding of this rule is pretty simple, however it can get complicated under some circumstances. Basics of The Birthday Rule The primary insurance for a child is the same as the parent with the earliest birthday on the calendar.  A …Read More