Hospital revamps billing system

The Thayer County Health Services board of directors heard from chief financial officer Doug Wismer on the hospital billing system at its March 29 meeting.
Patients will receive regular statements that reflect how much patients owe after insurance companies have paid.
Those should be ready in approximately 30 days, chief executive officer, David Burd said.
The regular statements will be mailed out in 30, 60 and 90-day increments. The statements will have local telephone numbers for patients to contact for questions and methods of payment.
“We’re hoping the new statements will address a lot of these concerns and also to find out if there are other concerns that need our attention,” Burd said.
After 90 days of no payment, bills will be sent out for collection.
The hospital has also had requests for making online payments and it is working toward that method.
Patients will receive two types of statements — regular and detailed.
The detailed statements will take longer to format because of the hospital’s software and should be released sometime in May.
Detailed statements will list services and their costs, and will be mailed to patients prior to payment by insurance companies. Answers to frequently asked questions will be on the back of the statements.
At some point, the hospital will hold community forums to gather public opinion. The dates have not been set, but it is Burd’s vision the forums will be held in most or all of the communities served by the hospital, including Bruning, Davenport, Deshler and Hebron.
“The intent is to find out if these things will satisfy the public,” Burd said.
The board thinks the forums are a “great idea.”
In other business, the board voted to redo the Korff Fitness and Wellness Center parking lot for $85,000.