Dealing with third parties involves submitting bills...
I can't help but think that dealing with patients when the discussion involves setting up arrangements for retainers, dickering about them, adjusting them as circumstances change, questioning charges, etc. would take considerable staff work as well. Every dispute currently had with an insurance company would probably be an issue for a patient, as well. And when talking to a patient, you're talking to a less experienced person who doesn't know terminology, standard practices, etc, so that could be very time consuming. Plus, once that was finished, you'd have to deal with getting the actual payments from the patients. At least insurance companies, once they agree to a price, actually have the money to pay. You don't have to give them an installment plan or hire a collections agent.
I've never had anyone on retainer so I have no experience with such matters but it seems to me that there would be a lot of transactions between the client and the provider re money. |
