Enough with the insurance companies beating up the health care industry, this is what you do about it.

I have had some experience dealing with the health care industry, which depends upon insurance companies,medicare and medicaid  for financial support.

Many have gone out of business, many are not covering overhead and are trying to get out before they go bust. None that I have dealt with have been able to become successful because of the predatory billing and payment practices the insurance system utilizes.

Here is the deal:

1. They control how much you  earn and it is way too low.

2. They require copious paperwork and administration requiring extensive payroll to support, further eroding the profit margin which is almost non- existent .

3. They challenge invoices regularly and thus do not pay them or downsize the invoice to whatever they seem to choose to pay and it is always less then what the provider needs to make a fair profit.

The net result is the health care provider must either short change the client, or figure out how to beat the system to earn enough to stay in business. Not a good plan for something as important as health care. It is not sustainable while maintaining a quality service system.

This is our system now, and it stinks from a business overview. It fails for the health provider,  fails for the patient and only wins for the insurance company which from my perspective is being short sighted, as what is the point of a health care program that prevents appropriate implementation? No reason for this system to exist at all, as it fails on its fundamental mission, to provide reasonable quality health care for the client and to support a private system to deliver it.

So here is the cure…go private, forget insurance revenue, or Medicare and Medicaid, go private  and bill what your time, expertise and requirements are worth and provide high quality private services for those who can afford to pay.

Can you survive such a transition? Of course for the following reasons:

A. When you stop billing the insurance companies you will still have 90 -120 days of billing in the system coming out over the time period. This gives you the time you need to develop and implement a marketing program, to educate the market that quality care does exist if you are willing to pay, and many are. Besides, it does not have to be all or nothing, take one day and dedicate it to marketing efforts and then fill that day with private clients until the day is full and then take a second day until your business has transformed itself.

B. Design a content based comparative marketing program which educates the general population what the benefits are of your service, including the services you will provide that the insurance companies will not support or pay for, and the  time and effort  and expertise you will give your clients that the insurance companies also will not support.

You have at least a ninety to hundred and twenty days that you will still receive  fullmrevenue from the system, and can continue to bill on a declining basis as you make this transition, as described, to private pay.

Now market effectively with a web site, and definitely a blog to discuss your program and create a social network of followers, press releases and seminars, newsletters etc. to educate the market as to what you do and why your program is worth the client paying for it as opposed to accepting lesser service for lesser money.

It is already being done very successfully by the  Dental industry. When I make an appointment for the dentist and am told it will be 6 months, with them relying on private payment, I can only conclude this model will work if you dare to make the transition. Most dentistry service is not covered by insurance thus the industry at large is primarily privately funded and it works, it can work for any health care provider if you market effectively.

Do it or fail trying to cover your overhead and take a pay check while being supported by the insurance industry.

It’s not for everyone. Rethink your plan and make adjustments. Do not rely on the insurance companies or government programs, they do not pay, fight back, regain your independence, regain control of your business and life, go private.