#1 Patient Financing For Dermatological Procedures | Denefits

Glowing skin is undoubtedly a benchmark for an aesthetically eye-catching appearance. In addition to that, the skin is the first line of defense between your body & the tough environment. With the help of the advances in the field of dermatology, it’s possible to enhance the appearance of your skin by correcting skin flaws like acne, lines, scars, & wrinkles. These well-established methods can help you to look as young & vibrant on the outside as you feel on the inside.
Dermatology is a specialty of the medical branch which has medicinal, cosmetic, and surgical aspects and deals with abnormalities of the hair, nail, and skin. Individuals who have skin problems should contact dermatologists to diagnose and treat the diseases of the skin. Dermatology is a broad discipline that includes study, research, and diagnosis of the aging conditions of the skin. With the advancement in technology, dermatology is evolving at a fast pace. This pace has been helpful in meeting the changing medical challenges of patients. There are various types of dermatology, and a dermatologist might specialize in one of the following branches: -

Cosmetic Dermatology: - This branch of skincare mainly address the aesthetic aspect of the skin. It is less concerned with skin diseases or skin health. For instance, chemical peels, hair transplants, injecting fillers for a more youthful appearance, laser surgery to diminish the appearance of scars, varicose veins, and wrinkles.

Dermatopathology: - This domain of skincare is principally concerned with the pathological aspects of the skin, hair, and nails.

Medical Dermatology: -  This method of skincare involves the medical treatment of unhealthy skin conditions, including skin cancer. Medical dermatologists diagnose, treats, and helps to prevent the disease of the skin, hair, and nails.

Surgical Dermatology: - Surgical dermatology involves skincare with the help of surgical methods -for instance, plastic surgeries, and rhinoplasty. 

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Patient financing for dermetological procedures

Glowing skin is undoubtedly a benchmark for an aesthetically pleasing appearance. In addition to that, the skin is the first line of defense between your body and the harsh environment. With the help of the advances in the field of dermatology, it is possible to enhance the appearance of your skin by correcting skin flaws like acne, lines, scars, and wrinkles. These well-established methods can help you to look as young and vibrant on the outside as you feel on the inside. 

Dermatology is a specialty of the medical branch which has medicinal, cosmetic, and surgical aspects and deals with abnormalities of the hair, nail, and skin. Individuals who have skin problems should contact dermatologists to diagnose and treat the diseases of the skin. Dermatology is a broad discipline which includes study, research, and diagnosis of the aging conditions of the skin. With the advancement in technology, dermatology is evolving at a fast pace. This pace has been helpful in meeting changing medical challenges of patients. There are various types of dermatology, and a dermatologist might specialize in one of the following branches: -

Cosmetic Dermatology: - This branch of skincare mainly address the aesthetic aspect of the skin. It is less concerned with skin diseases or skin health. For instance, chemical peels, hair transplants, injecting fillers for a more youthful appearance, laser surgery to diminish the appearance of scars, varicose veins, and wrinkles.

Dermatopathology: - This domain of skincare is principally concerned with the pathological aspects of the skin, hair, and nails.

Medical Dermatology: -  This method of skincare involves the medical treatment of unhealthy skin conditions, including skin cancer. Medical dermatologists diagnose, treats, and helps to prevent the disease of the skin, hair, and nails.

Surgical Dermatology: - Surgical dermatology involves skincare with the help of surgical methods -for instance, plastic surgeries, and rhinoplasty.  

  

Why Denefits payment plans? NO health insurance? NO Problem

“Skin is the largest organ of the body & says a lot about your overall health. 

Opt Denefits payment plans to avail the best treatments for your skin.”

Denefits - Finance Any Customer

Denefits patient financing solution is particularly helpful is especially useful for those individuals who live on the constrained income. It is frequently reported that many patients avoid pursuing recommended medical remedies only due to financial constraints. Denefits payment plans can potentially assist put off such barriers. Further, several patients are facing massive medical debts and can't come up with the money to opt for new medical treatments. Such patients can choose a payment plan option to get financing for skincare procedures without worry.

Furthermore, the folks who are living on restrained earnings often have a bad credit score. Denefits does not carry out credit score assessments while financing the patients. So, a bad credit score score isn't going to affect the eligibility of the patients for Denefits payments plans. Moreover, if medical financing agencies like Carecredit have rejected a patient's application for a medical loan, Denefits is the best choice for medical financing.

Advantages of Denefits payment plans

NO prepayment penalties: - Denefits does not charge prepayment penalties. Denefits patient financing programs are free from both hard and soft prepay penalties. We take into account that the prepay penalty can weigh to your pockets, so it's not part of our payment plans.

“If you want to settle your debt earlier than its due, you can go for it.

Denefits does not charge you for paying early.”

Denefits - Finance Any Customer

While many third-party financiers preserve prepaying penalty details buried of their ugly paperwork, our customers 'do not have to watch out for prepayment penalties. Denefits patient lending solutions exercise complete transparency when it comes to asserting all terms and condition in advance.

NO Credit Checks: - If candidates have a terrible credit score history, don’t fear, Denefits patient financing for bad credit has got them covered! Denefits do not perform credit score assessments, either hard or soft. We believe that a patient’s financial history isn't always a possible mean to decide his/ her future financial abilities.

100% Approval Rate: - Denefits objective is to make healthcare affordable to all. For this reason, we've maintained a 100% approval rate. Our patient financing options do not discriminate based on gender, age, race, earnings brackets, or these sort of variables. All people in need can harvest the advantages of Denefits patient financing system.

Better patient experience: - With Denefits medical patient financing, practitioners can focus on the skincare needs of their patients instead of worrying about his/her out of pocket medical costs. It facilitates to enhance the patient experience with the provider.

Consumer-friendly digital payment system: - Denefits not only offers top-notch financing plans without a credit score check but we also continually upgrade our virtual interface to provide a better experience to both patients and the practitioners. Denefits customer service works round the clock to help the patients in paying their due amount well-timed.

Fundraising through social media: - This is another unique characteristic of Denefits patient financing. Denefits understand that paying medical payments can sometimes be intense. Consequently, our Social Healthcare payments™ assists patients to raise finances for their medical bills. To ease the weight of their medical bills, patients can request funds from friends, family, and social media.

Transparency: - Being a top patient financing corporation in the US and with its transparent work culture and handling clients, Denefits has emerged as a leading player of patient financing industry. Denefits never costs any special prices which are not previously declared to the clients. Before patients are financed, their respective healthcare providers are bound to reveal all terms and conditions.

Denefits patient financing is better from a personal loan: - In general, private loans have higher interest rates and have hard eligibility standards. Alternatively, Denefits enhanced patient financing has relatively easy and flexible terms that offer patient financing with no credit checks.

Ideal platform for low-income holders: - Denefits is considered the best financial solution for those who have financial constraints or live on fixed resources. We have established that a patient's current financial position is not valid to jurist to assume his/her ability to repay in monthly payments.

Instant approval:- Unlike Patient loans, Denefits approves applicants right away. Our online platform for patient payment plans takes a few mins to accept the patient's request. There is no prolonged paperwork or administrative costs to maintain the records.

Pay medical bills without insurance: - If your healthcare coverage does no longer cover your treatment plan, you could select Denefits payment plan options. It can help you to pay your out-of-pocket medical bills without insurance.

Personalized financial experience: - Denefits professional yet friendly customer care support representatives are always here to help you with your selected payment plans. We regularly keep in touch with you and communicate gentle reminders concerning your due payments.

The flexibility with Denefits:- Denefits Payment plans offer liberty to the patients to determine the time to payback the treatment amount. We do have a flexible time frame for the repay of the amount. We recognize that the pace of repaying the total cost can vary with each. So, we've kept this option open for the patients where they can choose the time to pay back in affordable monthly installments.

Average Cost of Dermatology Treatments 

As it is evident from the list of treatments, there is an extensive range of dermatological treatments and procedures. Depending upon the complexity, the cost of dermatological procedures can vary from $75 to $2000 or even more.

How Can Denefits Help In Dermatological Financing?

Denefits payment plans make paying for out-of-pocket expenses less complicated. Unlike conventional financing, with Denefits, you can anticipate instant processing, 100% approval, NO credit check, NO hidden fees, low-interest rate, flexible financing terms, and letting your loved ones be your helping hand (via our Social Healthcare Payments™,  patients can raise funds for their medical bills). With Denefits, you can receive the desired skincare when you need it, and payback in monthly affordable payments.

You can get financed for all the medical tests, procedures & treatments offered by your provider with Denefits payment plans. Here are some dermatological procedures and remedies that maximum patients use Denefits for their financing needs.

List of dermatological procedures financed by Denefits

Denefits finances treatments of all dermatological specialties including but not limited to the following. Every skincare specialty is covered even if it is not listed here.

• Acne
• Acne treatments
• Actinic Keratoses
• Aesthetic treatment of fine lines and wrinkles
• Age Spots
• Aging / Sun Damaged Skin
• Alopecia Areata
• Atopic Dermatitis / Eczema
• Basal Cell Carcinoma
• Calluses and Corns
• Cellulitis
• Chemical peels
• Cysts
• Fungal Infections of the Skin
• General Skin Care
• Hair Loss
• Injectables and Fillers (Botox® Cosmetic, Dysport™, Xeomin®, Juvederm®)
• Laser therapy
• Lupus
• Melanoma
• Mohs surgery and other FDA-approved skin cancer procedures
• Moles
• Molluscum Contagiosum
• Nail Health
• Pityriasis Rosea
• Poison Ivy
• Psoriasis
• Psoriasis
• Rashes
• Rashes
• Rosacea
• Scabies
• Seborrheic Keratosis
• Shingles (Herpes Zoster)
• Skin Cancer
• Skin screenings
• Skin Tags
• Spider vein and varicose vein treatment
• Tattoo removal
• Tattoo Removal
• Vascular Birthmarks
• Vitiligo (Skin Pigment Disorders)
• Warts
• Yeast Infection
• Also, many more

Get financed for all nutrition programs with Denefits payment plans

Affording your treatment becomes simpler with Denefits patient financing services. With us, you get financed for all the procedures & remedies offered by your service provider. Denefits payment plans are remarkably distinct and affordable option to afford your dermatological procedures. Denefits ensures 100% approval rate, flexible financing terms, on the spot approval, low-interest rates, NO credit checks, NO hidden fees, and let your loved ones be your helping hand (With Social Healthcare Payments™, you can raise funds for medical bills).

Denefits has a full spectrum of patient financing services. Once you connect with Denefits, you can count on quick medical financing without any credit assessments. Our user-friendly virtual platform understands your needs and yields precise solutions tailor-made to their financial capacities. With Denefits, you receive care when you need it, and payback in affordable monthly payments. For more information, visit https://www.denefits.com/ or call us at 833-336-3348. 'We're here to help you round the clock.

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Relationship between Patients Experience & Healthcare Payment Plans

A successful medical practice revolves around two basic parameters viz. the effectiveness of a treatment plan and its affordability. The distinctive and affordable patient financing services offered by top healthcare financing company - Denefits, strengthen the ability of your patients to afford the prescribed treatment plans. Thus, playing a vital role in improving your patient’s experience.

“The patient experience is so important that it practically dictates patient’s loyalty.
Let Denefits Payment Plans pave the way for your patients to have the best experience.”

There are several ingredients that recipe the experience of patients such as communications between providers and receivers, the atmosphere of the practice, trained staff and so on. However, the availability of the healthcare payment plans acts like salt to the recipe of the patient experience. Being a critical ingredient, successful practitioners never forget to add patient financing services at their facilities.

General trends of patient financing vs. Denefits

If you plan to choose patient medical financing services for your practice, your service should be able to satisfy the unique financial needs of your patients. 

The traditional financing for medical procedures happens to be more problematic rather than additive to the experience of your patients. So, transparency in terms and conditions of the patient financing providers should be considered as a key variable. Being a leading player in this industry, Denefits offers a top of the line value-based transparent patient financing system. And there remains a zero availability for the hidden fees or terms/conditions within the healthcare financing services of Denefits.

The flexibility of Denefits services gives your patients ample space to independently decide the time to pay back their due amount. Such freedom is rare in many other patient financing services. Denefits does not practice credit checks which certainly adds up to patient satisfaction. On the other hand, Denefits covers uncertainties & offers guaranteed payments to practitioners.
 
While the need for any medical treatment can be sudden, general trends of your application approval may range from 2 to 7 days or even more than that. There are a few medical financing companies in this market that offer instant approval for your needs, Denefits is on top among them. Denefits offers a 100% approval rate for all types of medical treatments.

Denefits understands that the medical needs and financial capabilities of your patients can vary. Mostly, patient financial service providers or healthcare lending solutions bound patients into their rigid payment plans for a fixed duration.  However, Denefits provides full liberty and flexible payment plans to your patients so that they can choose the best treatment options. Hence, Denefits financial plans are free from rigidity and patients can choose both the required amount as well as the time needed to repay.

Our periodic customer surveys have indicated that Denefits patient financing bad credit has been the cornerstone of our success in enhancing patient satisfaction. Thus, achieved patient satisfaction has been found to be directly linked to the revenue generated by a practice. We believe that the ever-evolving demands of the patients can certainly be met with Denefits. We practically give full control to patients for their healthcare needs. Such satisfying experiences of the patients ultimately increase the much-required doctor-patient engagements.

Choose Denefits Today!

If your practice is not yielding the revenues you expect, we would be glad to be of assistance. Denefits can help your practice to attract more patients by offering an affordable patient financial plan. Let's together begin a journey to grow your business by increasing referrals and patient satisfaction. With our value-based services, we are certain to have a long term and fruitful relationship.  With Denefits, your patients can count on healthcare loans for bad credit, timely treatment, and complete care for their ailments.

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Get Rid of Mental Stress with Early Sunlight

What is stress?

Biologically speaking, stress is simply your body's reaction towards a drastic change. This change could be environmental or physiological. When an individual feels stressed, his/her body releases some chemicals in the bloodstream. The human body is the most sophisticated biological machinery. It has the innate capabilities to cope with such situations. However, with the consistent disturbances either due to a wrong lifestyle our faulty dietary regimen, the efficacy of such coping mechanisms gets compromised. At this juncture, to balance the harmony of body and mind, the biochemical reactions occur at escalated rates. The byproducts of such biological reactions act as a causal agent to induce the unhealthy condition of body and mind which is commonly referred to as stress. 

The biochemistry of stress

The evolution of our species has created several biological molecules for the proper functioning of the body. The sole task of these molecules is to keep the being in a happy state. One such molecule is known as the “Happy Hormone”. Medically known as serotonin, the adequate production of this hormone is meant to keep the individuals out of stress. A decreased concentration of serotonin can cause disturbances in neurological functioning of the body.  Basically, serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is responsible for the conduction of electrical messages across the body. These electrical messages encode vital information regarding our behavior, memory, appetite, and sleep. One can imagine the results of the under secretion of this vital neurotransmitter. 

Can stress lead to anxiety or depression?

Stress and anxiety are the two sides of a coin. Both these metal conditions can display similar symptoms. It’s not only that these terms are used interchangeably, but both these conditions can also invite each other i.e. stress can lead to depression and vice versa. At times, it can be difficult to identify stress vs. depression vs. anxiety. The reason is that all these conditions often show similar symptoms viz. loss of appetite, sleepless nights, excessive worries, etc. In simple words, stress can be called a short term experience. However, an elongated duration of stress invites anxiety and prolonged anxiety pushes the host into the state of depression. All these conditions can persist at your workplace, home, or within your social circles. 

Can my lifestyle & wrong dietary regimen cause stress?

A faulty lifestyle is the leading cause of stress. A disturbed daily regimen, untimely meals, or use of intoxicating substances invite the scenarios which are sufficient enough to push someone into a stressed state of mind. Normally, stress is an integral part of everyone’s life. And it's not always avoidable. However, if it clings on to you, that's just unhealthy. Two major aspects of your lifestyle viz. diet and sleep are crucial determinants to invite or terminate a prolonged state of . Timely meals enriched with essential nutrients is the best thing that can be done to keep stress at bay. For a layman, it can be said that eat natural and eat fibrously enriched food, that will do the job. Another important aspect to eliminate stress from your life is the sleep cycle. Try to set up your schedule with the sun. Get up early in the morning, with the sun, and try to go to bed when the sun goes down. And yes, avoid the artificial lights of your cell phone, TV, etc. for prolonged periods. 

How stress affects my happy hormone?

As mentioned earlier, one has to maintain the optimum levels of the happy hormone. Now one might wonder how can something internal/ involuntary be achieved. Here is the secret molecular mechanism to maintain a healthy concentration of the happy hormone. The internal fire (digestive enzymes) of your body breaks the complex food components and while this breakdown, an amino acid called Tryptophan is produced. This tryptophan is a molecular component of your happy molecule (serotonin). That is why most of the serotonin is available in the digestive tract. And as per the ancient medical science of Ayurveda, the early sunlight can actually trigger the production of serotonin. The sun rays can potentially activate the receptor sites of the cell membranes to bind and transport sufficient serotonin naturally. So, technically, a bath in the early sun rays can help you to get rid of stress as it can enhance the natural concentration of the happy hormone. 

Does Yoga/ Pranayama help?

As per the opinion of the experts, ‘YES’ it does. The natural remedies can be of great benefit to treat stress, anxiety, and depression. Following routine exercise can be helpful in enhancing digestion which can automatically induce the production of happy molecule. And Hey! if you plan to exercise, doing it in the open sunlight can be a cherry on the cake. Doing Yoga/ Pranayama can actually give you control over yourself and help you to consciously mark the first outlets of your anxiety.

How to afford expensive psychiatric treatments on a tight budget?

Pshcharitist counseling can be expensive. The inability of health insurance and medical financing options to cover all treatments cost forces the patients to look for affordable payment plan options. So, opt for Denefits enhanced patient financing for bad credit for mental health treatments. We are on top among the patient financing companies in North America Denefits patient financing ensures instant processing, 100% approval rate, no credit check, NO hidden fees, low-interest rate, flexible financing terms, and letting the patient's loved ones be their helping hand (through our Social Healthcare Payments™ option, patients can raise funds for their medical bills). 

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5 Thoughts On How To Improve The Patient Financial Experience

Most patients already have their disposable income earmarked for other bills and priorities. If a patient has to choose between paying his or her electric bill and medical care, for instance, he or she likely will opt to keep the lights on and let the medical bill slip another month. As patients take on more and more financial responsibility, this is unlikely to change unless healthcare organizations become more proactive and think like other consumer-driven industries. Car dealerships and appliance stores, for example, typically facilitate and offer financing options so big-ticket items like cars and refrigerators are more affordable to consumers. Hospitals and health systems are following a similar model to make healthcare more affordable to patients. Therefore they have made strategies and best practices for hospitals and health systems to consider when developing a patient financing program.

Millions of folks reside with unhealthy credit – and immeasurable folks have medical emergencies. What if you have got poor credit and unpaid medical bills? If you’re during this scenario, there are companies that offer to fund via medical loans for unhealthy credit. Sudden medical prices will threaten your monetary stability and obtaining a medical loan currently permits you to manage your finances – before the bills become overwhelming. Having bad credit makes getting any type of loan more difficult. But, it’s not impossible. And if you’re drowning in unexpected medical expenses, you may not be able to wait until your credit improves.

No Credit Check Financing

Your credit score is employed by lenders to see if you’re an honest candidate to increase credit to. But a coffee credit score will flag you as a credit risk and should create it tough to induce credit. If you’re offered credit with a nasty credit score, you’ll possibly pay a lot of in fees and charges as a result of you will qualify just for a better charge per unit. plenty of individuals resides with unhealthy tallies. There are people that cannot pay the medical bills because they can’t afford it. This feature enables you to finance patients with no credit history or but excellent credit score, making patient financing easy. Thus although you have got unhealthy credit score or low balance, this can facilitate.

we tend to don’t have any dangerous promotional offers and that we don’t charge any delayed interest or hidden fee from your patients.

Cashback Rewards

Who doesn’t likes cashbacks? Well from youngsters to teens, to elder people, everyone gets excited when they get a cashback. Cashback generally refers to a cardholder benefit offered by credit card companies that pay the cardholder a small percentage in cash rewards for each purchase. Because of this feature providers receive a cashback of $5 on each new contract financed.

Raise Funds For Treatments

Fundraising is that the method of gathering voluntary contributions of cash or alternative resources, by requesting donations from people, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies.

Traditionally, fundraising consisted largely of inquiring for donations on the road or at people’s doors, and this is often experiencing terribly sturdy growth within the style of face-to-face fundraising, however new varieties of fundraising, like online fundraising, have emerged in recent years, tho’ these are typically supported older strategies like grassroots fundraising. With this feature, patients will currently raise funds simply for his or her treatments through friends and relations.

Waiting Period

In today’s time, folks do not have the tendency to attend. They need everything to be done on time. This has created it potential for folks to induce treatment there so. Patients are now instantly approved and might get the treatment at the time of their You’re young. You’re healthy. But that doesn’t mean you won’t have a medical emergency tomorrow and get stuck with some whopping bills. These bills can get overwhelming really fast and it can be tempting to just ignore them. But let’s be clear here—you do have to pay them. Unlike most financing companies, there are companies that do not charge the patients a high-interest rate. Now you can easily get treatment at your budget and stay fit.

Guaranteed Payments

Guaranteed payments to partners are payments meant to compensate a partner for services or use of capital. In cases where people cannot afford to pay the medical bills, they want simple and easy solutions that can solve their problems. Here these patient financing features help them shield against uncertainties and guarantee secured payments at no further value. So, albeit your patient defaults, we have a tendency to keep delivering you payments.

Final Thought

Need a medical procedure that your insurance carrier will not cover? Or, your carrier might cover it, but only a portion, leaving you with huge out-of-pocket expenses that you cannot afford? You are not alone. Not everyone is in the position of being able to save for unforeseen medical issues. In fact, according to the statistics of medical bankruptcy cases, very few people do. If you have bad credit, your situation is even more worrisome and you may think that you have no options other than skipping the procedure.

Source: https://denefits.wordpress.com/2018/11/13/5-thoughts-on-how-to-improve-the-patient-financial-experience/

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7 thoughts on what's next and best in healthcare finance

Healthcare is moving outpatient due to technology development and a focus on value-based care. As a result, hospitals and health systems are looking at key strategies to transform their institutions in the future.

At the Becker's Hospital Review 8th Annual Meeting in Chicago, McGuireWoods Partner Geoff Cockrell, JD, moderated a panel titled "Lessons from the Experts: What's New, Next and Best in Healthcare Finance." The panelists included North Ottawa Community Health System CFO Donald Longpre; MemorialCare Health System CFO Karen Testman, RN; Chief Administrative Officer of Marshfield Clinic Health System Scott Polenz; and Director of Analytics and Cybersecurity at GE Healthcare Travis Frosch.

The key trends discussed during the panel include:

1. Balancing inpatient and outpatient investments. Traditionally hospitals invested in inpatient beds and departments for expansions and upgrades, but now more care is moving into the ambulatory setting. More patient interactions are done on the outpatient side and hospitals are building satellite ambulatory locations to extend their reach.

"We are looking for revenue growth opportunities," said Ms. Testman. "We did get into the business of freestanding ASCs and imaging centers. That's been a way for us to diversify our revenue and grow our revenue outside of the hospital environment. We are starting to look at opportunities in physical therapy and skilled nursing facilities."

Mr. Longpre discussed his hospital's efforts to keep patients out of the emergency room and urgent care facilities by attaching patients to a physician when they come in. Community agencies have space in the ER to help patients through the recovery process.

MemorialCare is also focused on outpatient strategy as part of larger population health and consumerism initiatives. The health system is investing in IT development tools to make healthcare access more user friendly, but at the same time continuing to invest on the inpatient side. "Most of our patients don't really appreciate what we are doing in terms of development on the inpatient record. It's not something that touches them," said Ms. Testman. "We are giving that some extra thought and trying to determine whether we can pull back on some of those resources and continue to invest on the ambulatory side and some of the things that our patients will actually touch and feel. For the most part, most of our patients don't end up in the hospital. Their interactions are with our physicians and surgery centers."

2. Updating the financial leadership model. The budget structure at many institutions is outdated in the era of value-based care. It may take a new budget and financial leadership structure to truly overhaul the system. "We are going from the typical budget process which is very painful and not value-added to a rolling forecast which is exciting for us in the aberrations area. I think for the first time in quite some time, our financial leadership wants to work with operations instead of just sitting in the room and sending the report," said Mr. Polenz. "They are sitting down and planning and giving us the tools we need to be able to do things proactively. Those are a couple things that are quite different for us as a system."

3. Value-based payments. The panelists feel value-based payments and risk-sharing payment models are here to stay. As a result, healthcare providers are spending significant resources to navigate patients through the healthcare system efficiently and ensure a pleasant experience. However, not all of providers' revenue is value-based and having one foot in and one foot out of the risk-sharing pool is challenging.

Realted Post: The connection between financial health & physical well-being

"What is interesting is the pace in which we are seeing it grow varies across the country," said Ms. Testman. "In California, we've had different forms of managed care and capitation for 20 years. We are seeing that continue to grow and a lot of creative partnerships and affiliations going on as part of that."

4. Creative partnerships and affiliations. MemorialCare signed an agreement with Anthem to create Vivity, which provides access to MemorialCare, Cedars Sinai and UCLA in addition to other well-respected systems in the area. "We are seeing more and more of the creative partnerships and affiliations involved, but in our market where 30 percent of our revenue is risk-based, the majority is still fee-for-service arrangements and it's hard to tell how quickly that will evolve in our markets," Ms. Testman said. "In other parts of the country, it might still be relatively slow."

5. Cybersecurity investment. As hospitals and health systems move into the digital age, they risk hackers stealing their data and compromising medical records without the appropriate cybersecurity. Around 81 percent of hospitals increased their budget for cybersecurity in the past year, said Mr. Frosch, with some hiring big data analysts and another spending for managed services with more predictable costs.

6. Data analytics. Investment in technology and data analytics can help hospitals create value in small and large ways. In many hospitals, it's a big step forward to gather the cost per case data for a certain procedure and then identifying the surgeon costing the most — perhaps that surgeon is using a more expensive implant — and standardizing the procedure.

In other cases, large health systems are using data analytics to manage population health. "Organizations are taking on massive numbers of lives and they need more robust full sets," said Mr. Frosch. "The thing that we encourage is low hanging fruit, small bites and big return on investment."

Related Post: Best practices for incorporating a patient financing program

Many hospitals don't have a comprehensive analytics strategy or understand where their budget will go in the future, said Mr. Frosch. "We have a framework for engaging with customers called FastWorks [which combines a set of tools and practices designed to build better products]. From anyone in software development, it's agile and in hyper drive," said Mr. Frosch. "I think really sitting down and understanding from the key stakeholders all the viewpoints and perspectives and iterating through that over a time horizon is the only way you can do that. And we've seen tremendous success with that."

7. Avoid overbuilding. Under-utilization is a problem for many healthcare providers, as several operating rooms, exam rooms and patient rooms go empty every day. The unused space still costs providers money and overall becomes a burden on the healthcare system. "We need to re-think what we do," said Mr. Longpre. "We can't say we are this big hospital that provides all this inpatient care. There is technology out there that is going to take orthopedics to outpatient surgery just like gynecology and urology moved from inpatient to outpatient. If you're a small community hospital, you're not going to have that much inpatient care."

Telehealth and virtual health are becoming more important as well. The technology can help people recover at home. Marshfield Clinic Health System is constructing a hospital and taking the trend toward outpatient care into consideration.

"In the market where we are building the hospital, we will try to take care of anywhere from 45 to 55 patients at any given time at the 44-bed hospital," said Mr. Polenz. "We aren't overbuilding because we know [outpatient is] the future. Even in our skilled nursing facility project, we anticipated certain numbers and when we got it up and running even a year later, some of the numbers we projected are being done in the outpatient basis."

Source: https://denefits.wordpress.com/2018/11/12/7-thoughts-on-whats-next-and-best-in-healthcare-finance/

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6 Reasons Healthcare Is So Expensive in the U.S.

Healthcare in the U.S. costs about twice as much as it does in any other developed country. If the $3 trillion U.S. healthcare sector were ranked as a country, it would be the world’s fifth largest economy according to “Consumer Reports.” The cost of this huge financial burden to every household because of lost wages, higher premiums and taxes plus additional out-of-pocket expensesis more than $8,000.

Even with all this money being spent on healthcare, the World Health Organization ranked the U.S. thirty-seventh in healthcare systems, and The Commonwealth Fund placed the U.S. last among the top 11 industrialized countries in overall healthcare.

Why is the U.S. paying so much more for care and not appearing at the top of the rankings? Here’s a look at six key reasons the U.S. is failing to provide adequate healthcare at reasonable prices.

1. Administrative Costs

The number one reason our healthcare costs are so high, says Harvard economist David Cutler, is that “the administrative costs of running our healthcare system are astronomical. About one quarter of healthcare cost is associated with administration, which is far higher than in any other country.”

One example Cutler brought up in a discussion on this topic with National Public Radio was the 1,300 billing clerks at Duke University Hospital, which has only 900 beds. Those billing specialists are needed to determine how to bill to meet the varying requirements of multiple insurers. Canada and other countries that have a single-payer system don’t require this level of staffing to administer healthcare.

2. Drug Costs

Another major difference in health costs between the U.S. and every other developed nation is the cost of drugs. The public definitely believes drug costs are unreasonable; now politicians are starting to believe that too. In most countries the government negotiates drug prices with the drug makers, but when Congress created Medicare Part D, it specifically denied Medicare the right to use its power to negotiate drug prices. The Veteran’s Administration and Medicaid, which can negotiate drug prices, pay the lowest drug prices. The Congressional Budget Office has found that just by giving the low-income beneficiaries of Medicare Part D the same discount Medicaid recipients get, the federal government would save $116 billion over 10 years. Think of what the savings might be if all Medicare recipients could benefit from Medicaid-negotiated drug prices!

3. Defensive Medicine

Yet another big driver of the higher U.S. health insurance bill is the practice of defensive medicine. Doctors are afraid that they will get sued, so they order multiple tests even when they are certain they know what the diagnosis is. A Gallup survey estimated that $650 billion annually could be attributed to defensive medicine. Everyone pays the bill on this with higher insurance premiums, co-pays and out-of-pocket costs, as well as taxes that go toward paying for governmental healthcare programs.

4. Expensive Mix of Treatments

U.S. medical practitioners also tend to use a more expensive mix of treatments. When compared with other developed countries, for example, the U.S. uses three times as many mammograms, two-and-a-half times the number of MRIs and 31% more Caesarean sections. This results in more being spent on technology in more locations. Another key part of the mix is that more people in the U.S. are treated by specialists, whose fees are higher than primary-care doctors, when the same types of treatments are done at the primary-care level in other countries. Specialists command higher pay, which drives the costs up in the U.S. for everyone.

5. Wages and Work Rules

Wages and staffing drive costs up in healthcare. Specialists are commanding high reimbursements and the overutilization of specialists through the current process of referral decision-making drives health costs even higher. The National Commission on Physician Payment Reform was the first step in fixing the problem; based on its 2013 report, the commission adopted 12 recommendations for changes to get control over physician pay. Now it is working with Congress to find a way to implement some of these recommendations.

6. Branding

“There is no such thing as a legitimate price for anything in healthcare,” says George Halvorson, the former chairman of health maintenance organization Kaiser Permanente. “Prices are made up depending on who the payer is.”

Providers who can demand the highest prices are the ones that create a brand everyone wants. “In some markets the prestigious medical institutions can name their price,” says Andrea Cabarello, program director at Catalyst for Payment Reform, a nonprofit that works with large employers to get some control on health costs.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has pushed back to some degree against the high costs created by branding. In central Florida, for example, one of the top brands is Florida Hospital. This year ACA policies offered by Humana did not include services provided by this brand. Similar types of contract negotiations knocked out top hospitals in other locations. It remains to be seen whether this will cause those hospitals to reduce prices to get those patients back.

The Bottom Line

Most other developed countries control costs, in part, by having the government play a stronger role in negotiating prices for healthcare. Their healthcare systems don’t require the high administrative costs that drive up pricing in the U.S. As the global overseers of their country’s systems, these governments have the ability to negotiate lower drug, medical equipment and hospital costs. They can influence the mix of treatments used and patients’ ability to go to specialists or seek more expensive treatments.

So far in the U.S., there has been a lack of political support for the government taking a larger role in controlling healthcare costs. The most recent legislation, the Affordable Care Act, focused on ensuring access to healthcare, but maintained the status quo to encourage competition among insurers and healthcare providers. This means there will be multiple payers for the services and less powerful control over negotiated pricing from providers of healthcare services.

Where to Find Affordable Health Insurance

Whether your trip to the doctor is for something as simple as a sinus infection or something as complex as cancer, you don’t want to feel worse when you receive the bill. The cost of medical services can hit the wallet hard: there are 1.7 million personal bankruptcies every year due to inability to pay medical bills — in fact, crushing healthcare debt is the number one reason for filing bankruptcy.

While having health insurance is no guarantee you won’t be overwhelmed with medical expenses in the event of a serious accident or health issue, it does let you rest easy in the knowledge that barring something extreme, you and your family can take care of your healthcare needs without going broke. Additionally, with the passage of the Affordable Care Act (often referred to as Obamacare or ACA), those without insurance in 2014 and beyond will face a penalty on their tax return — 1% of their yearly household income, or $95 per household member, whichever is higher.

Check with Your Employer

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 86% of full-time employees in the US have access to health insurance through their workplace. If you are in this category, your lowest-cost, best-coverage option is probably going to be your employer’s plan. Group health insurance generally provides significant savings, even with rising costs for the worker’s portion of the premium. In 2013, the average employee’s cost for family health insurance was $4565 annually, with the employer paying the remaining portion of $11,786.

Look to the Government

For a sizable portion of the population, the government is picking up their healthcare bill, either through Medicare for older Americans or state Medicaid plans for those with low incomes. If you’re over 65, you probably already receive Medicare. While Medicare is quite complex, in simplest terms, if you paid enough taxes while working, you will receive Medicare Part A — which covers hospital-related expenses — premium-free. Medicare Part B, which covers outpatient care, doctor’s visits, medical supplies and lab tests, requires a monthly premium of $104.90 for those with an annual income of less than $85,000, and carries a $147 deductible.

For those with very low income, Medicaid offers health insurance at low-or-no cost to the recipient. Though every state manages their Medicaid program differently, the general guideline is that individuals or families with income below 133% poverty level are eligible. Since the passage of the ACA, many states have expanded their Medicaid guidelines to cover far more families than in previous years. If you feel you might qualify for Medicaid, you can apply at your state’s social services department or through your state’s insurance exchange.

Shop through Your State Exchange

One of the key facets of the ACA is the creation of state exchanges to facilitate health insurance enrollment. Seventeen states run their own exchange, the remainder either default to the federal government’s exchange (which you can access through Healthcare.gov), or have a hybrid state/federal exchange program. With the advent of Obamacare, your state exchange (or the federal marketplace) is one of the easiest ways to compare insurance policies and choose the one best suited to your needs.

While the individual states have a great deal of flexibility in their insurance programs, generally, you’ll find a wide range of policies with varying deductibles, premiums, out-of-pocket limits and coverage details. You may also qualify for assistance in paying for your insurance:

• If your income is less than 400% of the poverty level, you may qualify for tax credits to help offset the cost of insurance
• If your income is under 250% of the poverty level, you may qualify for a subsidized insurance policy
• If your income is less than 138% of the poverty level, you qualify for Medicaid in those states with expanded coverage

Buy Health Insurance Direct

If you don’t qualify for any of the above options, or you simply prefer to buy insurance on your own, there are several ways to shop.

• Insurance companies: You can buy insurance directly from most insurance companies. Most have websites that let you compare plans and apply for coverage.
• Online patient financing sites: At websites like www.denefits.com, you can compare plans from multiple insurance companies, decide which offers the price and coverage that you need and apply online.
• Insurance brokers and agents: If you prefer a personal touch, contact an insurance agent or broker to discuss your options in person. The agent will help you choose the right plan for you and your family.

The Bottom Line

Health insurance not only provides peace of mind that you and your family are covered in case of illness or accident, but it’s also required by law. With so many options available, you’re sure to find a plan you can afford.

Read more: Where to Find Affordable Health Insurance | How to Get Medical Loans with Bad Credit

Source:

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/091614/where-find-affordable-health-insurance.asp

https://medium.com/patient-financing/6-reasons-healthcare-is-so-expensive-in-the-u-s-a42e7a11fd3e

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