Archive | September, 2020

The 30 Day Bill Cycle is Dead

21 Sep

The way that medical and dental practices have approached people that owe money in the past no longer works nearly as effectively as it once did. 

The “one size fits all” approach is dead, and the 30 day bill cycle is dead both in follow-up and collections of slow-pay and delinquents accounts. 

The reasons for a patient not paying the bill when due can be varied.  Some don’t pay on time because of financial reasons. Others have the funds but are too disorganized to remember where the bill is.  Some will try to hold off paying, hoping that you will forget or give up.  Still others have no intention to pay you

It can be very expensive to have your staff continue to send statements, make phone calls, and “chase the money”

So what should a business do?

We have determined that there are actually four distinct types of patient payers.  Each is motivated in a different way to pay the bill, and it is a mistake to treat them all the same.  They are:

THE DUTIFUL PAYER

The dutiful payer feels a keen responsibility to pay their debts in a timely manner.  They are motivated to pay the bill by the initial statement you send following patient responsibility.  Fortunately, they are (or should be) the largest category in your practice.

THE DISTRACTED PAYER

The distracted payer has the very best intentions to pay your bill, but they seem to be so busy and distracted that they misplace your statement or just forget to pay it.  Timely reminders are sufficient to motivate them to get that bill paid.

THE DISRESPECTFUL PAYER

The disrespectful payer tries to see what they can get away with, and hope that you will give up trying to collect the bill if they dodge you long enough.  They do not respond to your statements, letters, or phone calls.  Rather it will take a contact by a third party collection agency for them to be convinced that the practice is serious about collecting the debt.  That alone will motivate them to pay, and they will generally pay the bill after they receive the first contact by that third party.

PROFESSIONAL DEBTOR

The professional debtor never intended to pay the bill when they received service.  They are likely in collections with other creditors already.  These, and these alone, need to be in the hands of professional collectors, familiar with medical debt, before too much time has elapsed and too much money has already been spent chasing them.

HOW TO GET PAID FASTER

I’d like to have the opportunity to show you how to motivate each type of payer to pay their bill, and to do it inexpensively and easily.  Call me or email me today and I’ll be happy to show you.

Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog for more Tips and Tricks to make your business or practice more profitable.

Contact Me Directly

Please subscribe to this blog , or contact me with any questions.

Call me directly at 770-224-8504 or 888-780-1333
Schedule a phone call with me by clicking here
Visit my website by clicking here
Visit my YouTube channel by clicking here
Email me at David.wiener@cashflowstrategies.us

HIPAA Violations That Can Destroy a Medical or Dental Practice

14 Sep

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA, was enacted in 1996. Since then we’ve seen some major HIPAA violations that can cost up to $1.5 million per year. This can seem intimidating for your practice, especially if you don’t know how to avoid a violation.

Let’s look at the 11 most common HIPAA Violations. Your organization needs a better understanding of what you should and shouldn’t do so that you don’t face a breach.

Lack of Employee Training

Lack of employee training. Nearly 1/4 of healthcare workers don’t receive the proper HIPAA training that they need. But employee education and training can help your organization avoid all of the common violations on this list.

Mishandling of Medical Records

Medical record mishandling using paper records increases the chance that protected health information or PHI will be left exposed for unauthorized people to see. Leaving computers unlocked also poses a risk. Locking your computers when not in use ensures protection of electronic records.

Using insecure technology.

As we use more digital health information, medical records are more susceptible to breaches.

Using insecure technology to share PHI is a huge risk that should never be done because it’ll expose your organization to a breach.

Hacking and Malware

PHI records are worth 100 times as much as credit card numbers on the dark web.

So hackers are intentionally seeking this information. It’s so important to have anti-virus, anti-malware firewall software installed on your devices to help protect against hackers.

Lack of Authorization and Proper Signatures

Some employees will carelessly release PHI because they don't know what's required in order to release it in the first place. Uses and disclosures of PHI requires written consent by authorized individuals when it's not being used for treatment, healthcare operations, or payment.

Incorrect Information

It’s simple, double-check or even triple-check that you are releasing the correct patient’s information.

Improper Storage and Disposal of PHI

While people probably don’t go through the garbage searching for PHI, it’s definitely a best practice and recommended that you dispose of it properly through shredding, destroying, and hard drive wiping.

Lost or Stolen Devices

Human error is uncontrollable and you can’t really prevent a stolen device from happening in the first place. Your organization must have the proper safeguards in place so that the PHI is not exposed from these stolen devices.

Misuse of Social Media

Using more social media increases the chances that a patient’s photo will be shared on the internet. Employees must be cautious about what they post on social media, ensuring that it doesn’t include anything regarding patients.

Casual Conversation

Stories about patients may be fun and interesting but discussing PHI is always off-limits. This includes gossiping about patients to friends, family, or even co-workers.

You never know who might be listening or what they might tell someone about.

Celebrity File Lookups

Not only can talking about patients be interesting, so can snooping into their files. This is very common with celebrities in particular and even with no intention of sharing the information it’s still a breach if you look at files without authorization.

HIPAA violations can be disastrous to a practice. Compliance is not a suggestion, it is mandatory and non-compliance can be very costly. Don’t risk it! Cash Flow Strategies, Inc. is pleased to work with PCIHIPAA and OfficeSafe to provide your practice with a full solution to compliance, training, and protection.

CLICK HERE to receive a free HIPAA Risk Analysis for your practice

Contact Me Directly

Please subscribe to this blog , or contact me with any questions.

Call me directly at 770-224-8504 or 888-780-1333
Schedule a phone call with me by clicking here
Visit my website by clicking here
Visit my YouTube channel by clicking here
Email me at David.wiener@cashflowstrategies.us

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Appreciating Depreciation for Real Estate Brokers

7 Sep

You can be a tax hero to your clients and prospects. Here’s how.

Become a “Tax Hero”

You can become a Tax Hero to your current and potential real estate clients. We’re talking about a hero status so big that your clients think you should start wearing a cape.

And, you don’t need to become a tax professional to be a Tax Hero. Just make your clients aware of one simple tax code that most are missing—100% Bonus Depreciation.

In the first year of ownership, this one change potentially saves a commercial building owner $40,000 – $100,000 per $1 Million of building owned or purchased. It’s like buying a building and getting up to a 10% off gift card.

To become a Tax Hero, just say this to your client or prospect:

  • “100% Bonus Depreciation.
  • • When you buy a building, about 20% of the building qualifies for 100% Depreciation.
  • • It’s worth about $60K per Million in the first year you own the building.
  • • I have a specialist that you can talk to. I’ll send you their number.”

That’s it. Congratulations on achieving Tax Hero Status! YOU EARNED IT!

How Does it All Work?

Now, overachievers want to know how and why this new tax code works. I’ll try and keep it simple.

  • In the new tax code, Congress wanted to encourage business owners to buy more stuff to stimulate the economy.
  • So on purchased items that have to be capitalized and depreciated over a period of 20 years or less, Congress said you can have all of your depreciation deductions in the first year.
  • It is like everything went on sale.

Every tax professional knows how to take these deductions on items like equipment, computers, furniture and fixtures but not all know how to get 20% of the building to qualify for this same bonus depreciation in the first year. This is where you might want to recommend a cost segregation specialist.

What is cost segregation?

Instead of selecting the old straight-line depreciation method that views the building as one whole piece and depreciates the building over 39 years, the owner can select a depreciation method that groups or “segregates” the values of the parts and pieces of the building into categories that depreciate on a 5-, 7-, 15- and 39-year basis. About 20% of the building fits into the 5-, 7-, and 15-year categories. And remember Congress said that anything purchased that has a depreciable life of 20 years or less can be 100% Depreciated in the first year. That averages $40,000-100,000 of cash flow in the first year for every $1M of building.

Cost Segregation Services, Inc. —CSSI can perform an engineering-based study of the building by identifying and valuing all the parts and pieces that qualify, photo document the building, and to supply the numbers that allows the tax professional to file for these deductions, AND we can provide a free, no-obligation estimate on any building in 48 hours.

For buildings that you might have for sale, or buildings that a prospect might be considering, you can contact me and I will get you that estimate on the building to present to your potential client.

I think that long shiny cape would look good on you. Contact me today to learn more about how I can help make you a HERO.

Contact Me Directly

Call me directly at 770-224-8504 or 888-780-1333
Schedule a phone call with me by clicking here
Visit my website by clicking here
Visit my YouTube channel by clicking here
Email me at David.wiener@cashflowstrategies.us

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