La Jolla, CA (June 2, 2017) As the Affordable Care Act repeal sits on the Senate floor, hospitals and health system executives across the country are anxiously holding their breath, many already teetering on high budget deficits, and some on the verge of closing. As more and more hospitals face increasing financial problems, including closure, many seek solutions to help promote financial stability. Wayne Memorial Hospital in Pennsylvania, is just one hospital, that turned to VestaCare to implement an innovative solution that effectively fills the gap between patients receiving care and hospitals securing the costs for that care.
“While our government grapples with healthcare legislation and insurance coverage, we’re proposing a fundamental cultural shift toward hospitals and patients working together. By changing the financial dynamic, and focusing on a mutually beneficial approach, patients and hospitals avoid the collections process. Both parties win,” says Tom Brekka, CEO of VestaCare.
Brekka argues that hospitals are waiting too long to address patient revenue loss, and closings are increasing exponentially. Since 2010, 80 hospitals in the U.S. have closed; 21 of those closings occurred last year. And impending changes in reimbursement and coverage is less than promising.
The solution
Yet amidst these closings and financial changes, Brekka has developed a system to secure patient revenue BEFORE it becomes problematic. He has taken the approach common within clinical practices, and applied it to healthcare financial systems: Focus on prevention, to reduce the need for treatment. This solution helps the hospital’s ongoing battle in balancing patient satisfaction and collecting money for care.
The benefits of this system are already surfacing. In the first month, hospitals using VestaCare experienced a 10% – 15% increase in secured patient revenue. By developing individual patient payment programs, within the first year, secured patient revenue is projected to reach $2.0 million, for a hospital historically losing $6 million in patient bad debt.
Success Story
According to David Hoff, CEO, Wayne Memorial Hospital, “Health insurance plans have changed dramatically over the last 5-7 years, putting greater responsibility on the patient to pay out of pocket for their care; but hospitals have not changed the way they get payment — our systems have not changed. And that has increased our patient debt significantly.”
After partnering with VestaCare in January 2017, Wayne Memorial Hospital in Honesdale, PA, secured $150,000 in patient payments. By April, the hospital secured over $287,000 in patient obligations. On a $500,000 per month bad debt run rate, this represents a 57% recovery. And, this improvement is essentially off of a zero-base, as historically, Wayne Memorial collected minimal payments from patients at time of service.
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About VestaCare
VestaCare is devoted to helping hospitals and other medical care providers secure a higher percentage of their patient-responsible revenues, while ensuring patients are treated with compassion and respect. Headquartered in La Jolla, CA, VestaCare secures hospitals’ financial survival by preventing patient revenue loss, rather than chasing after payment once care is provided. Proprietary technologies behind an integrated payment system are paired with comprehensive staff training and onsite support. By providing the most compassionate solutions, VestaCare enables patients to pay for their own medical care, with 90% of enrolled patients completing their total payments. VestaCare’s approach, in working with hospital staff, increases patient satisfaction and loyalty, allowing them to focus on getting well instead of worrying about their medical bills.
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