Medicare Bad Debt Review

Bad Debts continue to be a struggle for hospitals given the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) changes to how Bad Debts are treated and reimbursed and a greater financial responsibility on patients because of high-deductible health plans and coinsurance amounts.

Hospitals, now more than ever, need to be proactive with their Bad Debts to ensure they get paid as much as possible for the care that was provided to Medicare patients who are unable to settle their balances after treatment.

Are you and your team keeping up with all the changes for creating Bad Debt logs?

With 75% of your DSH reimbursement tied to Worksheet S-10, you can’t afford inaccurate cost report filings and Bad Debt.

BESLER’s healthcare reimbursement services will review the accuracy of the information used to complete Bad Debt Expense, and we will identify any possible revisions to ensure accurate logs meet the basic criteria:

  • Debt must be related to covered services and derived from deductible and coinsurance amounts.
  • Hospital must be able to establish that reasonable collection efforts were made.
  • Debt was actually uncollectible when claimed as worthless.
  • Sound business judgment established that there was no likelihood of recovery at any time in the future.

Bad debts are reimbursed at 65% by Medicare so if your hospital does not report it or reports it incorrectly, you could be missing out on reimbursement dollars.

Why Choose BESLER for Your Medicare Bad Debt Review?

  • Reduce stress from the uncertainty in the reporting requirements and potential audits.
  • We have very knowledgeable team members who have extensive experience with Bad Debt and the related DSH and S-10.
  • Our team members also have a thorough understanding of MAC audits with expertise in preparing for them.
  • Our team uses an extensive review process.
    • Reviews the Medicare Bad Debt numbers versus the numbers entered on the S-10 Bad Debt.
    • Reviews all policies and procedures pertaining to bad debt, charity care, and financial assistance.
    • Reviews insurance and transaction masters.
    • Ensures all patient categories that should be included in the Bad Debt write offs are consistent with 42 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations).

Contact BESLER to help your hospital capture inactive A/R and recover money you otherwise wouldn’t receive from Medicare.

Related Services

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Disproportionate Share Reviews (DSH)

Optimize your Medicare eligible days for a clean log identifying all possible accounts to enhance the opportunity to qualify for an uncompensated care payment.

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Worksheet S-10 Review and Refiling

Automated process to prepare your S-10 filings while identifying areas of opportunity and ensuring regulatory compliance.

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