Hackensack Meridian Health, Novant Health, VCU Health, Mosaic Life Care Named Top Winners for Patient Financing Performance

SAN DIEGO, June 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey, Novant Health in North Carolina, VCU Health in Virginia and Mosaic Life Care in Missouri are top winners in the 2018 ClearBalance^® Patient Financing Performance awards. The annual awards program is based on the ClearBalance ROI Value Model™, which is a HFMA Peer Review calculator that sets the national standard for patient financing performance.

Hackensack Meridian Health is an integrated delivery network that uses the ClearBalance zero-interest patient financing solution at eight of its 13 facilities. The organization won the ROI Performance Award last year with a ROI of 380 percent. Hackensack Meridian Health expanded its use of the ClearBalance program across more of its facilities in 2017 and achieved 495 percent ROI to win a consecutive ROI Top Performer Award.

Novant Health, a four-state integrated network of 530 physician clinics, outpatient centers and hospitals, has used the ClearBalance patient financing program for five years and consistently achieves strong ROI. The system takes top honors for greatest reduction of bad debt, recouping more than $9 million that could have gone to patient write-offs. "Several years ago, we anticipated that revenue cycle management would evolve to a consumer-centric approach," says April York, Sr. Director of Revenue Administration for Novant Health. "We've been ahead of others in our market, collaborating with patients on payment options that are reasonable while significantly reducing bad debt. The strategy benefits patients, creates loyalty and supports our financial performance goals year-after-year."

VCU Health, an academic medical center in Richmond, Va., began using the ClearBalance program in 2017. The system achieved first-year ROI performance of 338 percent. Likewise, Mosaic Life Care, which serves a tristate area of Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, also began using the ClearBalance patient financing solution last year. Self-described lifestyle company Mosaic Life Care is honored for achieving the greatest impact to patient experience with its use of the ClearBalance program. According to VP of Revenue Cycle Deborah Vancleave, making care affordable supports the organization's mission of doing what's best for the patient while remaining competitive in a crowded market.

"We're a small, rural hospital but we compete with big chains every day," Vancleave says. "It's imperative that we differentiate our patient experience to encourage loyalty. Offering an attractive, zero-interest payment plan helps ensure the patient's financial experience aligns with our lifestyle-focused culture while having the added bonus of improving our cash flow."

"The Revenue Cycle department is the health system brand ambassador," says ClearBalance CEO Bruce Haupt. "These teams are the first and last hospital representatives to interact with the consumer. It's critical that those experiences lead to the next opportunity when the consumer makes a healthcare choice."

"Consumers do have a voice and choice in their healthcare services," Novant Health's York adds. "In this era of consumer-driven patient financial accountability, the pace of change is rapid. Our mission is to create a remarkable human experience for our community. Even now we're working closely with ClearBalance and other partners to predict, prepare and deliver the next stage of consumer financial engagement."

In addition to the top four ROI Performance Awards, ClearBalance also recognizes these health systems for their patient financing performance:

• UPMC Pinnacle, part of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center system, achieved ROI of 484 percent using the ClearBalance program
• Penn Highlands Healthcare, a four-hospital integrated health system in northwestern Pennsylvania and another a first-year partner with ClearBalance, achieved ROI of 338 percent
• ClearBalance also recognized Orlando Health in Florida for achieving the greatest one-year performance improvement after a major program conversion.

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 pay reimbursement, revenue cycle IT expertise and the patient/consumer experience. Recognizing the trend toward consumerism, ClearBalance was the first to advise providers to adopt a zero interest loan program that would encourage more patients to repay their cost of care. ClearBalance also introduced the first and only HFMA Peer Reviewed ROI Value Model™, which identifies a providers' cost to collect patient pay and sets nationally recognized benchmarks for a long-term financing alternative.   Clearbalance.org

Contact:           
Laurie Heavey, VP Product & Strategic Marketing
ClearBalance
[email protected] or 858-200-9208

SOURCE ClearBalance