Physicians Practice - February 2008 - (Page 59)

HEALTHONOMICS HOW TO HANDLE HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS BY SUZ REDFEARN HSAs ARE BECOMING MORE POPULAR WITH PATIENTS — AND THAT’S A PROBLEM FOR YOUR BILLING STAFF. It’s safe to say that Susan Miller is knee-deep in health savings accounts (HSAs) and the highdeductible plans that by law must accompany them. Miller is the administrator of Family Practice Associates in Lexington, Ky., which is not only seeing an increasing number of patients that have HSAs but also IN SUMMARY Health savings accounts, in combination with a high-deductible health plan, are a consumer-driven healthcare option that’s slowly picking up speed in the marketplace. Patients put aside money on a tax-free basis to cover their high deductible and other upfront healthcare costs. What they don’t spend they can roll into the next year. • The aim is to connect consumers more intimately to their healthcare and its costs by making them responsible for more of its funding. an uncomfortable shift in the way practices handle billing. After spending decades getting systems in place to handle managed care billing, another change is afoot: altering billing practices to collect efﬁciently and effectively from patients. making sure all patients preregister so that ofﬁce staff can check their sometimes complicated eligibility status ahead of time. Experts also suggest communicating very speciﬁc policies and procedures about payment, so that there’s no ambiguity among patients. • The downside is that it’s causing • Some problems can be alleviated by offers HSAs as an option to its own employees. It’s been a mixed blessing, reports Miller. “The physicians here really wanted to lower premium costs and give employees an opportunity to put aside more money on a pretax basis, and that has worked out great,” she says. “But as for patients coming in with health savings accounts? That has been far more difﬁcult to administer.” Miller continued. “We’ve built this huge mechanism around getting paid by managed care, and now we’re going to have to get paid by patients, which is very difﬁcult when you’re not sure what to collect, and often have a patient who’s confused or doesn’t want to pay. It becomes far more confusing because their payment is based on how much of the deductible they have met, as well as what is allowable for their particular health plan.” Unfortunately, none of this information is quick or easy to obtain. A SEA CHANGE Established in 2001, health savings accounts allow consumers to put aside money on a tax-free basis to pay for their healthcare costs. By law, HSAs must be attached to a high-deductible health insurance plan. In theory, the patient uses his HSA to pay that deductible, as well as any other up-front healthcare costs, via a debit card. If not used in one particular calendar year, the saved funds can be rolled into the next year. Funds that are still there by the time the account holder is 65 can be rolled into a tax-free IRA, if the person chooses. (The HSA differs from the medical savings account, or MSA, in that the MSA FEBRUARY 2008 | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM 59 http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Physicians Practice - February 2008

Physicians Practice - February 2008 Contents The Bigger Picture: Your Future is in Your Hands Letters Physicians Practice Pearls: Creating an A+ Practice Noteworthy Cover Story: Conquering Time: 5 Keys to a More Efficient Practice In Balance: A Family Affair Technology: Making EMRs Work in the Exam Room In Practice: "I've Got Some Bad News" The Tech Doctor - The EMR: Savior or Poseur? Ask the Experts NEW! Healthonomics: How to Handle Health Savings Accounts The Administrator's Desk: Finishing School for New Managers Human Resources: Is Your Partner Impaired The Great Practice Makeover: Too Well-Liked for His Own Good? Coding Idealab: 'Why I Blog' Classifieds Advertiser Index

Physicians Practice - February 2008

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