I'd like to respectfully disagree with Michael Sachs regarding receiving payment from families who have declared bankruptcy. We have had many families in our practice either have their accounts turned over for collection or declare bankruptcy, who subsequently have gone on to pay off their bills and become steady, paying patients. You have to help these families (and all your patients) control their expenses by not letting them "string you along". In other words, you have to stay on top of collections, not let people run up huge bills in the hope they'll eventually pay you. Debts should not get "old" before you try to collect them. Many families in our practice have had accounts turned over for collection for amounts as small as $25 or $30, if no payment has been made for more than 90 days. This represents a manageable sum for a struggling family, one which they are more likely to pay off. Afterwards, we take them back on a cash-up-front basis. Of course, in unusual situations, we have provided services gratis. But we always put a time limit on such situations at the beginning, such as 6 or 12 months. In short, we have certainly lost patients and money due to bankruptcy, but the situation is not as bleak as you might think. Dave Arkin, MD Richmond, VA On Sat, 27 Jun 1998 23:59:06 -0700 Michael Sachs <> writes: >At 01:29 PM 6/25/98 -0500, Dogwood Ridge wrote: >>It seems to be quite the fashion here in Texas to declare bankruptcy- > >>erasing unsecured doctor's depts. Last week I received bankruptcy >notice >>naming the mother of two of my patients and her third husband- not >my >>patients' father. Can I now bill the two children's fathers who are >not >>declaring bankruptcy or should I just kiss the thousand dollars owed >me >>good-bye? Thanks- Kim Burlingham, M.D. > > >I had one family where the mother didn't declare bankruptcy but was >just a >plain deadbeat. The non-custodial father had never come into the >office so >had not signed the form which states, "I accept financial >responsibility >for amounts not paid by the insurance company" (the mother had). >Still, >our collection agency went after the father, he paid with a bad check, >then >refused to make good on it. He was taken to small claims court and a >big >judgement was levied against him (because of the bad check, in >addition to >the amount owed). The questions of who signed forms or who brought >the >child in or who had financial responsibility apparently were not >raised. > >I'd say send the collection agency after the fathers. Our agency >works on >a 50% commission. If nothing is collected there is no fee (except a >nominal fee if someone is taken to small claims court). So there >should be >no harm in trying. > >BTW, once a family declares bankruptcy you'll likely never get >anything >from them. If they're in such a financial bind that they've resorted >to >this decision, you can be guaranteed there's a long line of other >creditors >they've also not been paying. > >Sometimes you can see it coming with honorable families where >unemployment >or other unexpected situations push their debts over the edge. But >I've >actually been surprised by a couple of families who seemed responsible >- I >would have vouched for their integrity. One family had been with me >for >years, then switched to a different insurance plan. They weren't >happy >with their new $5.00 co-pay doctor so came out of network to see me >for >several months. And after stringing me along for several months with >nominal (or no) payments as the balance crept up, they declared >bankruptcy. > They got away with it because of our trust and long-term >relationship. Of >course in retrospect I can see that they never intended to pay and >were >only using me for free medical care while they could. They took my >time, >vaccines, and office supplies and did not intend to pay for them. >It's too >bad that this can't be called what it really is: theft. > > >Michael Sachs, M.D. >General Pediatrician > _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]