The healthcare debate rolls on with hot rhetoric off the charts this political season. Despite calls for repealing the ACA or expanding Medicare for all, the already-broken system is not likely to be torn asunder anytime soon. Though frustration remains high, some of healthcare’s most pressing financial problems can be solved right now, within our communities and without government intervention.

From the emergency room to the accounting department, healthcare professionals want to support their organizations’ mission to deliver care, to do no harm, and to be part of a team that builds goodwill in their communities. But with today’s high-deductible insurance plans, patients pay more out of their own pockets, healthcare providers deplete more resources on collections, and billing managers find themselves in a regrettable new role: creditor. This wasn’t the professional path they chose, nor is it a path toward a positive patient experience.

No-interest patient payment plans have long been thought of as great solutions for patients who can’t afford immediate payment. On paper at least, these types of plans seem legitimately beneficial, and healthcare providers and medical billing staff across the country truly believe that these plans are helping patients absorb the potentially disastrous financial impact of high-cost treatments. They believe it, or else they wouldn’t be offering them.

Incentives to Improve CRA Ratings The importance of improving your financial institution’s CRA rating has perhaps never been more keenly felt. Between the rumblings about updating the Community Reinvestment Act from Comptroller Joseph Otting and the U.S. Department of Treasury to the growing advocacy within American communities for more banking solutions, investing in and bettering CRA ratings has risen to the top of every local banker’s to-do list.

Work With Healthcare Providers and Their Patients Deposit growth is critical for the success of any financial institution. Without it, banks can’t fund the loans that consumers want and need. However, attracting new deposit opportunities isn’t quite as simple as it used to be. Let’s just say that a free toaster doesn’t go as far as it once did. Instead, savvy banks have been scanning the landscape for unexpected deposit sources, and then marketing themselves as the bank of choice via a robust combination of products and services.

Consumers with little or poor credit, poor repayment histories, and longstanding negative account balances are, understandably, not typically thought of as “ideal customers” for banks and other financial institutions. Indeed, these profiles, along with consumers with low or volatile incomes, have long been flagged as too risky to fully serve.

Like any industry in America, the healthcare industry faces many challenges. Recruiting and retaining qualified physicians, driving revenue growth, and encouraging employee engagement are among the most compelling overall. But, for many healthcare finance administrators, revenue cycle challenges are equally daunting. One reason for this is the constant struggle to collect payments from patients, which makes it difficult to maintain a low ‘Days in Accounts Receivables’ (DAR) rate. If this struggle sounds familiar to you, then Epic River is here to help.