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Medical Collections

Express Recovery has an impressive record when it comes to healthcare receivables. Our recovery rate is consistently higher than the national average.

We understand the competitive nature of the healthcare industry. People have choices where to receive care and where to educate themselves. Actions ERS takes can be a reflection on you, our client, and we hold those concerns in the highest regard.

Express Recovery's customer service philosophy relates to the sensitive needs of our clients who desire the highest possible collection percentages while protecting their image with their customers. All employees in contact with our clients' customers have been thoroughly trained in the rules, regulations and laws regarding collections. We uphold the importance of public relations in collecting past due accounts for our clients. Complete consistency with the ACA Code of Ethics and Standards is maintained. All letters and notices are approved by legal counsel to comply with all rules and regulations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Health Information Patient Portability Act.

Express Recovery has been in business for over 14 years and has not had any successful action filed against us for an FDCPA violation.

Healthcare receivables Trends...

Average Recovery Rates

• Hospitals – 17.0 percent.  (Source: ACA International's Top Collection Markets Survey*, Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2008.)
• Non-hospitals – 21.0 percent.  (Source: ACA International's Top Collection Markets Survey, Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2008.)

Uncompensated Care/Bad Debt

• U.S. hospitals provided $36.4 billion in uncompensated care in 2008, representing 5.8 percent of annual hospital expenses. (Source: American Hospital Association, “Uncompensated Hospital Care Cost Fact Sheet,” November 2009.)

• The national average for bad debt is 3.03 percent, 2.17 percent for charity and 5.2 percent for total uncollectibles. The Southeast region of the U.S. had the highest percentage of total uncollectibles at 12.8 percent . (Source: The Hospital Accounts Report Analysis (HARA) on Second Quarter 2008.)

Uninsured/Underinsured

• The percentage of people without health insurance in 2008 was not statistically different from 2007 at 15.4 percent. The number of uninsured increased to 46.3 million in 2008, from 45.7 million in 2007. (Source: The U.S. Census Bureau, “Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008.”).
• As of 2007, 42 percent of all working age adults were either uninsured or underinsured—up from 35 percent in the four years since 2003. (Source: Press release, The Commonwealth Fund, July 17, 2008.)
• The number of Americans who did not have insurance at some point in 2008 was 43.8 million, 2.8 million more than in 1997. (Source: Press release, National Center for Disease Control, July 1, 2009.)

• The uninsured rates in the United States for the native-born and foreign-born populations were statistically unchanged at 12.9 percent and 33.5 percent, respectively, in 2008.   (Source: Press release, U.S. Census Bureau Sept. 10, 2009.)

• Individuals ages 18 – 24 are the most likely to be uninsured (29.6 percent), followed by individuals aged 25 – 34 (25.9 percent).  (Source: Center for Disease Control, 2009 National Health Interview Survey, data collected January through March 2009, September 2009.)

Premiums

• In 2009, annual premiums for families covered by employer-sponsored health insurance were $13,375. Premiums rose 5 percent since 2008, but have risen 131 percent since 1999.  (Source: The 2009 Employer Health Benefits Survey, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET), September 2009.)

Out-of-Pocket Costs

• Annual out-of-pocket responsibility for families covered by employer-sponsored health insurance in 2008 was $3,515.  (Source: The 2009 Employer Health Benefits Survey, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET), September 2009.)

Deductibles

• In 2009, 20 percent of workers had deductibles of at least $1000. This is an increase of 66 percent since 2007.  (Source: The 2009 Employer Health Benefits Survey, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET), September 2009.)

• In 2009, 40 percent of workers in small businesses (3 – 199 employees) had deductibles of at least $1000. This is an increase of 90 percent since 2007. ( Source: The 2009 Employer Health Benefits Survey, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET), September 2009.)

Cost of Care

• In 2007, 41 percent of adults reported that they had medical debt or trouble paying medical bills, up from 34 percent in 2005.  (Source: Press release, The Commonwealth Fund, July 17, 2008.)

• For individuals with greater levels of obesity, lifetime medical costs are higher, ranging from $15,000 to $29,000 more than for normal weight individuals.  (Source: RTI International and Merck & Co., May 29, 2008.)

Electronic Medical Records

• Although U.S. primary care doctors' use of electronic medical records increased from 17 percent to 28 percent from 2001 to 2006, the U.S. lags far behind leading countries where 98 percent of doctors have electronic records, often with advanced system capacity to support doctors and patients.  (Source: Press release, The Commonwealth Fund, July 17, 2008.)

Access to Care

• More than 20 percent of the U.S. population in 2007—one in five people—reported not getting or delaying needed medical care in the previous 12 months, up significantly from 14 percent—one in seven people—in 2003.  (Source: National study, Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC), June 26, 2008.)

Enrollment in Health Plans

• Enrollment in consumer-directed health plans rose 8 percent in 2008 to 5.5 million covered workers, up from 5 percent in 2007.  (Source: The 2008 Employer Health Benefits Survey, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET), Sept. 24, 2008.)
• The majority (60 percent) of covered workders are enrolled in preferred provider organizations (PPOs). Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) cover 20 percent, followed by point-ot-service (POS) plans (10 percent), HDHP (high-deductabel health plan) 8 percent and conventional plans (1 percent).  ( Source: The 2009 Employer Health Benefits Survey, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET), September 2009.)

Health Care Spending

• Nominal health spending in the United States grew 4.4 percent in 2008, to $2.3 trillion or $7,681 per person.  This was the slowest rate of growth since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services started officially tracking expenditures in 1960. Despite slower growth, however, health care spending continued to outpace overall nominal economic growth, which grew by 2.6 percent in 2008 as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 
  (Source: CMS Issues Annual Report on National Health Spending, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,January 5, 2010.)