Patient may not be ‘true’ self-pay
Patient access staff at Methodist Charlton Medical Center in Dallas now run all self-pay patients through an automated verification system to identify those that are unaware that they are still active with the Medicaid program.
“For those true self-pay patients admitted to our facility, we work very closely with the care management department to provide patients with any assistance available to them,” says Jeanette Foulk, director of patient access.
A financial counselor visits with each new self-pay admission to explain the estimated financial obligation, provide options that might be available, and assist in completion of a Medicaid or charity application. For eligible patients, counselors also complete an application for Project Access Dallas, a community service program that was created by the Dallas County Medical Society along with several community partners.
“This program was formed to assist Dallas county residents who struggle daily with the hardships of poverty and are unable to afford medical insurance,” says Foulk. “Our goal is to expand this program to our emergency and outpatient areas in the near future.”
Patient access staff at Methodist Charlton Medical Center in Dallas now run all self-pay patients through an automated verification system to identify those that are unaware that they are still active with the Medicaid program.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content