You’ve seen more patients on high-deductible plans and you can expect that trend to continue, according to a wide range of media sources. In just one year, from 2010 to 2011, the percent of companies offering high-deductible plans went from 23% to 32%, one survey found.
The survey, which only looked at companies with 500 or more employees, also found that 13% of insured employees were enrolled in a high-deductible plan as of 2011, compared to 3% in 2006.
These plans have monthly premiums that are about 20% lower than traditional plans, but for you, that means the first $1,200 to $2,400 (or more) in bills for these patients must be collected from the patients. The dollar figures are based on minimum deductible amounts for single and family plans that meet the federal definition of “high” deductible.
Bottom line: If you needed a wakeup call to develop a strategy for collecting from essentially self-pay patients, you’ve got one now. At the beginning of the year, meeting deductibles always presented a challenge for practices, but this data shows the trend is growing wider and more sharply, as deductible amounts go up as well.