In our new patient packet, that every patient signs before they are allowed to see the doctor, there is a line that indicates that they are responsible for all charges not covered by insurance, including, copays, coinsurance, deductibles and denied claims due to termed policies (in the event someones' insurance terms overnight - it's happened before, so we make it a blanket rule in the paperwork).
It also states that if they don't pay their portion within a reasonable amount of time (30 days) then we can bill them at 1% of the balance per month. We also have it written in there that if we have to obtain legal services to collect the debt that they are responsible for those as well.
Surprisingly, people don't read the fine print; they blindly sign it and act shocked when I send them to the Collections agency after 120 days.
