I have never seen a professional discount to a cash payor that is greater than a contractual discount. Collections on those billed amounts are a different story.
This is my experience too. However, when the uninsured calls and asks for a discount, it's typically pretty easy to get from what I've heard from my buddy who worked at Mary Bird.
Wow... just wow. I could show you some internal documents from clinics, but that would be divulging privileged information. You are just wrong on this issue and need to stop now.
Are you talking about the first bill they receive? Or are you talking about the settled amount after they tell the doc they have no money?
I know what I have seen in servicing multiple doctor's offices. When talking in terms of billing the discounts offered to cash payors I have never seen one that is greater than a contractual discount with an insurer. I have an HFMA study on my desk from a training I went to over the summer. It very plainly says that most offices in the southeast region do not discount gross charges for cash payors. The most common theme of financial assistance is accepting payment in installments of the full gross charge amount. A less common releif was discounts for cash payors. The purpose of the study was to demonstrate that realization was higher when cash payors received discounts on par or greater with that of insured patients. I can show you plenty of data to back this up if not hor Hippa and pesky engagement letters.
My experience is exactly the opposite. I spoke today with a clinic about giving out "their price" to cash payors whilst insured get an "insurance price". Their words, not mine. Same. It's HIPAA, for crying out loud. This is a huge pet peeve of mine! There's no excuse for continually misspelling this acronym ESPECIALLY if you are daily encumbered by it in the health care industry, as you and I both are.
no excuse? of course there is an excuse. the dude is not good at spelling. there are various things that people are not good at. i am not good at math. you are not good at being not excruciating.
