Tenet?s Online Bill Pay Could Reduce Collections Costs

Hospital operator Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) is offering patients at its 53 hospitals the option of paying their medical bills online.

Tenet said the automated system developed by NCR Corp. allows patients to check on the status of their accounts, make payments, update profiles, arrange payment plans and set up recurring payments. Users also can access a glossary of billing terms and view frequently asked billing questions.

“It’s been a long time coming for us,” said Jason Petrasich, director of strategic initiative for Tenet Patient Financial Services. “It eliminates the lock box mail processing cost and potentially eliminates a phone call to (and from) our customer service centers.”

Petrasich said the customers likely to use the website are patients Tenet wants to continue coming to its hospitals for service. But the service provides another way for the Dallas-based for-profit hospital chain to improve its self-pay collections effort and curtail bad debt expense – an area in which Tenet leads the industry (“Flu Season Boosts Revenue at For-Profit Health Care Providers,” May 28).

Petrasich said the online bill pay service will eliminate the need for patients to contact its customer care centers, freeing those hospital representatives to focus their collection efforts on patients who haven’t paid their bills. The online bill pay feature also can help Tenet keep track of patients with outstanding balances.

“We’d be able to link across all the accounts and circle back and get a statement or collection calls on the accounts still outstanding,” Petrasich said.

Tenet implemented the service after a two month trial period involving 11 Texas regional hospitals. It became available to all hospitals in the chain April 25.

Petrasich said Tenet’s online bill payment service in early May generated more than 1,000 online transactions, exceeding the company’s expectations. He said Tenet soon will offer patients the option of linking multiple accounts to manage payments for themselves and family members.