Patient Financing Newcomers See Significant Impact in Less Than a Year

(L-R) HFMA’s Todd Nelson, Patrice Taleff, UPMC Pinnacle, Karen Hoffman, CentraCare Health, Stacey Russell, MaineGeneral Health and Pete Thompson, ClearBalance

ClearBalance Honors CentraCare Health and MaineGeneral Health for Improved Revenue Cycle and Patient Satisfaction Metrics

 SAN DIEGO, June 24, 2019 – CentraCare Health in Minnesota and MaineGeneral Health in Maine have been named 2019 Patient Financing Top Performers by patient financing service provider ClearBalance® in conjunction with the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). The annual Top Performer awards program is based on the ClearBalance ROI Value Model™, an HFMA Peer Reviewed* tool that sets national standards for measuring patient financing performance.

CentraCare is a not-for-profit integrated health system that uses the ClearBalance zero-interest patient financing solution across its eight hospitals and employed physicians. A first-year partner with ClearBalance, the organization achieved the rookie Top Performer ROI Award with 487 percent ROI using long-term patient financing. “We’re in a competitive market in Minnesota,” says Kathy Parsons, VP Revenue Cycle. “It’s been important to engage patients in a way that enables them to affordably repay their cost of care while also contributing to a strong bottom line.”

MaineGeneral Health, a nonprofit hospital serving the Kennebec Valley region, also began using the ClearBalance program in 2018 and is being recognized for Top Performer – Greatest Impact to Patients. Health system leaders regard “affordable care” to be a differentiator, and actively promoted the program to patients, including its own employees who need extended financing to pay their portion of care. In seven months, the ClearBalance program was used to help patients cover their medical costs for nearly 16,000 care episodes. “We don’t want cost to be a barrier to receiving care. Giving consumers an option to pay their out-of-pocket costs over time definitely impacts satisfaction and loyalty,” says Buffy Higgins, Sr. Director, Revenue Cycle. “Our CEO championed this initiative and was instrumental in communicating ClearBalance financing program benefits to our staff and the community. It’s been a positive experience for our patients and also helped us reduce bad debt nearly 10 percent.”

In addition to CentraCare and MainGeneral Health, ClearBalance also recognizes the following health systems for their patient financing performance:

• UPMC Pinnacle, part of UPMC, received the Top Performer ROI award in the veteran category.
• Norton Healthcare, a health system with more than 40 clinics and hospitals in and around Louisville, Ky., took the runner-up spot in the rookie category, Top Performer ROI.

“Health systems often experience immediate financial and patient satisfaction results when partnering with ClearBalance for patient financing,” says ClearBalance President and CEO Bruce Haupt. “We’re pleased to see such tremendous performance from first-year and longtime partners.”

About ClearBalance

ClearBalance has been at the forefront of patient pay management since 1992, setting and delivering a high bar for patient financing solutions, patient reimbursement, revenue cycle IT expertise and the consumer experience. The ClearBalance program features the only HFMA Peer Reviewed ROI Value Model, which identifies providers’ cost to collect patient pay and sets nationally recognized benchmarks for a long-term financing alternative.   ClearBalance.org

*Peer Review designation
HFMA staff and volunteers determined that these healthcare business solutions have met specific criteria developed under the HFMA Peer Review process. HFMA does not endorse or guarantee the use of these healthcare business solutions or that any results will be obtained.