It&39;s ironic that as we work on "Medical Debt" as our theme for May, I am spending a lot of time on the phone with my hospital&39;s billing office.  I recently had some back problems that led to multiple MRI&39;s, an outpatient surgery and a massive amount of medical bills. Even with my good health insurance and slightly neurotic temperament, it is easy to get overwhelmed sorting these charges out.

But there is good news! When I called the hospital today to straighten out one bill, I talked to a representative who was smart and very educated about credit. She had worked in medical collections before and had seen first hand the damage that unpaid or error-ridden bills can have on a patient. We ended up talking about credit for 20 minutes. What a breath of fresh air!

Every hospital should provide credit and debt education to their billing departments. If a hospital is prepared to send a patient&39;s delinquent $50 co-pay bill to collections, they should be trained about the seven-year impact that that account will have on the patient&39;s credit. Smart billing representatives will be more effective working with patients to find healthy financial solutions and more compassionate about debt situations. Every representative should know:

• That medical collection records stay on credit reports for 7 years, whether paid or unpaid.
• That medical collection accounts have a major negative impact on credit scores.
• That medical collection records are often masked on a consumer&39;s credit report to protect them from discrimination. However, the records still appear and still cause credit score damage.
• If their hospital provides a charity care program and, if they do, who qualifies.
• The basics of the credit reporting and credit scoring system.
• Resources for patients in need of credit cards or loans and the ability to advise whether or not they will qualify for these products.
• Helpful information for patients with no credit or bad credit. 

If you work in a hospital billing department, contact us! We&39;d love to teach your staff about credit. In fact, I know the perfect person to teach that class. A few hours of credit education will be good for your team, good for your patients and good for your bottom line.