Me dical Cre dit & Co lle ctio n s Train in g

Transcription

1 Presents Me dical Cre dit & Co lle ctio n s Train in g (comprehensive training in medical credit & collection of patient responsible amounts) Become a Certified Medical Collectors (CMC) A comprehensive distance learning course for medical office compliance managers in healthcare! AIHC PO Box 572 Medina, Ohio Call toll free: (866)

2 Certified Medical Collector A Distance Learning Course & Certification in Patient Collections for health care facilities, financial counselors and billing services Level: Medical office, hospital or health care facility business office, intake, admissions or front desk experience preferred but not required. Overview This program is designed to provide comprehensive training in credit & collections specific to health care facilities (SNF, Hospital, Hospice, Clinics, Physician Office, Clinical Lab, DME, Third Party Medical Billing Companies) addressing medical ethics, patient-physician relationship considerations, rules and regulations related to health care. Lessons are sent via Internet and each student is assigned their own personal tutor/instructor for the duration of the course. Tutors are available by phone through our toll free number, and fax. Computer Requirements 1. PC with Internet capability 2. address 3. Microsoft Word 4. Excel 5. Adobe Acrobat Reader (free from Learning Objectives - Students will learn... Office of Inspector General guidelines, CMS rules & regulations, Anti-kickback statutes, financial hardship write-offs and legal risks associated with professional courtesy; Understanding Managed Care, Federal health care programs and insurance benefits, learning how to calculate patient responsible amounts; Truth-in-Lending, Fair Credit Billing Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; Psychology of collecting and financial counseling; How to ask patients for money, telephone, written collection techniques; How to become an effective financial counselor, negotiating skills, financing options to offer patients; Divorce, minors/children, estates, bankruptcy & handling special circumstances appropriately.

3 Duration of Program: 3 months to complete program and become certified Average Weekly Study Time Requirements: 4-6 hours per lesson (week) Cost $1, total tuition which includes text books, course materials and certification exam cost for AIHC members. $1,300 for non members. Financial Assistance & Scholarship Opportunity AIHC offers scholarship assistance to those individuals working for a company not offering tuition reimbursement or only offering tuition reimbursement for college accredited courses (which this course is not). For others, we offer 4.99% financing on our payment plan options. A down payment of $500 is required to qualify for financing the balance.

4 Course Text/Materials Cost Included in Tuition Books will be directly shipped to the address provided on the enrollment form. Books ordered to be shipped to your address are (subject to change or update): Collection Management Handbook, The Art of Getting Paid Text Course materials, reading assignments, Internet testing modules Learn at home, but with a text book, instructor and using your computer and Internet access!

5 Program Instructors Students are assigned one of the experienced instructors listed below. Mark Pattison Mark is located in our Cleveland, Ohio office and brings over ten years experience in collections and finance to our clients and students. He has written computer software training manuals, has taught collection education programs and brings banking and credit card collection experience to assist his students through the learning process. Mark has worked a Metro Health Cent, University MEDNET and Kaiser Permanente prior to working for the banking industry as an Account Manager and in Business Development. A graduate from John Carroll University with a Bachelor of Art degree, he also attended the University of Edinburgh, South Bridge, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. His professional affiliations are: AAPC; Toastmaster s International; and ACA International. Joanne Byron Joanne is located in our Hickory, North Carolina office and brings over thirty years of coding, reimbursement and health care facility, hospital and outpatient collection experience to our students. She has designed various college programs in medical office management, insurance and billing courses as well as being the primary consultant to develop our distance learning courses for the Strategic Coding Institute. Joanne is a nurse (LPN), a graduate of Clayton College in Birmingham, Alabama with a Bachelor s of Science, a Certified Professional Coder (CPC) and a Certified Healthcare Auditor (CHA). Professional affiliations are: AAPC, MGMA and AHIMA.

6 Course Outline (subject to change & updates) MODULE I Rules, Regulations and Legal Issues Impacting Medical Collections Lesson 1: OIG, Medicare, Managed Care Issues & Patient Collection Compliance - Compliance Guidance issued by the Office of Inspector General, risks related to professional courtesy, financial hardship and legitimate write-offs, poverty guidelines and creating a sliding scale for charity care adjustments, understanding medical necessity guidelines from Medicare (NCD and LCD), administering the ABN and collecting from the Medicare patient. On-line test module on fraud & abuse. Lesson 2: Regulation Z, Payment Arrangements, Funding Patient Debts & the Fair Credit Billing Act - Regulation Z and the Truth-in-Lending Act, how practices can legally charge late fees, penalties, interest, negotiating reasonable payment agreements, creating an interest rate table in Excel to use when calculating interest, Fair Credit Billing Act & practice responsibilities for billing & collections from patients, effective payment cycles and collection techniques. Lesson 3: Fair Credit Reporting Act & Fair Debt Collection Practices Act - When a medical practice can pull credit reports without patient consent, 3 major credit bureaus, reporting patient debts to the credit bureau, legal collection communication methods permitted when contacting patients, practice responsibility for billing errors, refunds, handling disputes. Lesson 4: Knowing How Much to Collect - Understanding Insurance Benefits and Self Pay Responsibility - HIPAA and pre-existing exclusion periods and self pay responsibility, life time max, calendar year max, out-of-pocket, copays, deductibles, co-insurance, out-of-network benefits and calculating self pay responsibility. Module I Exam MODULE II Collections as a Science & Communication Skills Lesson 5: Divorce, Minors, Children & Special Circumstances - Credit counseling services, debt consolidation, death & estate issues, bankruptcy, billing for minors, children of divorce, legal guardianship, power of attorney circumstances. Lesson 6: Physician-Patient Relationship Ethics, Morales & Values Related to Collections - Internet research project state guidelines regarding when the physician-patient relationships is established, state medical society guidelines, American Medical Association guidelines, research malpractice issues, creating a termination policy and termination letter, system requirements to prevent return visits project.

7 Lesson 7: Collection as a Science, Psychology & Communication Skills - Text: Collection Management Handbook: The Art of Getting Paid Chapter 1 A New Collection Science is Born Chapter 2 Oratory and Advanced Communication Skills Chapter 3 Selling Psychology applied to Collections Lesson 8: Medical Collection Techniques Getting Personal - Video training tape and manual overview of collection techniques, front desk and telephone communications, patient statements & follow up techniques by HCCS. Text: Collection Management Handbook: The Art of Getting Paid Chapter 4 Advanced Collection Techniques Chapter 5 Small-Balance Collection Module II Exam MODULE III Advanced Collection Techniques Lesson 9: Final Collection Attempts, Bad Debt, Outsourcing Options - Written warnings, bad debt write-offs, passing costs of outsourcing to patients, outsourcing to collection agencies, monitoring agency performance, cost and terms associated with outsourcing. Special project financial analysis of multiple agency performances. Lesson 10: In-House Collections (rather than outsourcing) Weighing options and making right choices for your organization and circumstances Text: Collection Management Handbook: The Art of Getting Paid Chapter 6 Small Claims Court Chapter 7 Making Your Debtors an Offer They Can t Refuse Chapter 8 Skip Tracing & Asset Searches Lesson 11: Legal Recovery & Judgments Learning the legal ropes Text: Collection Management Handbook: The Art of Getting Paid Chapter 9 Legal Recovery Chapter 10 Enforcement of Money Judgments & Investigatory Skills Lesson 12: Overview, Case Studies - Preparatory for Certificate Exam Text: Collection Management Handbook: The Art of Getting Paid Chapter 11 Case Studies Chapter 12 Conclusion Appendix Accounts Receivable Proficiency Exam (pre-exam)

8 Comprehensive Proficiency Certification Examination is given Medical Patient Collections Credentials: CMC Certified Medical Collector Learn how to provide professional financial counseling services for your patients!

9 Certified Medical Collector Program Registration/Enrollment Form Call with any questions about registration, the course or certification exam. CMC Course $1,200 (AIHC members) CMC Course$1,300 (non member) Date of Enrollment Amount Due Print Name, Position, Current Credentials & Check Highest Level of Education Employer & Address High School Associate s Degree Diploma Program Bachelor s Degree Master s or Higher Address (required for confirmation of enrollment) Work Phone/Ext. Fax Home Phone Charge My Credit Card: [ ] VISA [ ] MasterCard [ ] Discover Card #: (3 Digit Security Code) Expiration Date: Name as it appears on the card: Authorized Signature & Date: CHECK #: AMOUNT ENCLOSED $ Please make checks payable to: AIHC; Mail to American Institute of Healthcare Compliance PO Box 572 Medina, OH If you have any questions, or to register by telephone with a credit card, please call Please visit our website at for more information about our company. Inquiries should be made to norma@aihc-assn.org