SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nearly half of healthcare providers do not know the amount a patient will owe them at the time of care, according to a survey from NaviNet (formerly NaviMedix), America's largest real-time healthcare communications network. The May 2009 survey, which sampled healthcare providers across the United States about patient payment management and credit card usage, showed that 49 percent of providers said they do not have the ability to calculate patients' financial responsibility, beyond co-payment, until after claims are submitted and processed. In addition, 31 percent of providers said they lose revenue due to uncollected patient payments.

"Our practice has often struggled with determining patients' financial responsibility, especially as their health insurance coverage changes frequently," said Linda Chufe, manager, Bell, Froman, Orsini and Associates. "Real-time access to eligibility and benefits information helps us communicate financial responsibility to patients at the time of care and enables us to have informed discussions with patients about payment options, which ensures collection."


The survey also showed:

• Nearly one in five doctors do not accept credit and debit cards, a common consumer payment method.
• High processing fees and hardware costs are the top reasons why providers do not accept credit and debit cards. Concerns over financial industry regulations are the second most popular reason for not accepting cards.
• Of the more than 80 percent of doctors that do accept credit and debit cards, most (87 percent) only accept these cards for their patients' co-payments.

"For healthcare providers, managing revenue must be as much a core competency as the delivery of services, and needs to become more proactive and disciplined," said Vi Shaffer, research vice president at Gartner. "With patient self-payments on the rise, verifying eligibility/necessity, accurately estimating obligations, and then cost-effectively collecting the patient's portion of the bill at the time of service is becoming quite crucial."

Recent information from industry organizations shows that inability for providers to estimate, calculate and/or collect at time of care is likely to cause cash flow problems that will only increase over time: A report by the National Association of Healthcare Access Management shows that the probability that a provider will collect the full amount of patient payment drops significantly, to less than 20 percent, after care is provided¹. And, the revenue that providers lose only stands to become greater, as patient out-of-pocket expenses are on the rise, expected to grow to $420 billion by 2015², a McKinsey report predicts.

The survey was conducted May 6-26, 2009. Respondents included 1279 U.S. healthcare providers from provider offices, hospitals and facilities, billing and business offices, and ancillaries. Full survey results can be found at http://www.navinet.net/files/hfma/creditcardusage.htm.

NaviNet at HFMA's 2009 ANI: The Healthcare Finance Conference

NaviNet will demonstrate NaviNet Payment Pro at HFMA's 2009 ANI: The Healthcare Finance Conference, held June 14-16 in Seattle, Washington, in its booth #929. A secure, Web-based, PCI compliant solution, NaviNet Payment Pro records patient balances, tracks cash payments, submits credit and debit card charges, and incorporates an online reconciliation that is automatically matched with visit records. For resources on ways to improve patient collections and a demo of NaviNet's Payment Management suite, including NaviNet Payment Pro, visit our resource center at http://www.navinet.net/provider/paymentmanagement.


About NaviNet

NaviNet (formerly NaviMedix) is America's largest real-time healthcare communications network, securely linking over 750,000 providers and the nation's patients, industry partners and leading health plans. NaviNet's advanced solutions, services and expertise streamline business processes and drive industry-leading innovation. In a time when access to healthcare is a critical issue, NaviNet fosters collaboration and helps government, plans and providers improve quality of care and reduce costs. For more information, or to sign up for NaviNet, please visit www.NaviNet.net or call 617-715-6000 or 800-805-7569. Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/NaviNet.

¹ Russell, James E. "Cash Collection Opportunities: Are You Collecting Every Dollar Possible?" National Association of Healthcare Access Management.

² LeCuyer, Nick A., Singhal, Shubham, June 2007. "Overhauling the US health care payment system," The McKinsey Quarterly.



NaviNet, Inc.

Alicia Allen, 617-715-6488

aallen@NaviNet.net

or

Schwartz Communications

Mercedes Fereck, 781-684-0770

NaviNet@schwartz-pr.com

Source: NaviNet, Inc.