With the new year just around the corner, physicians are reminded to verify patients' eligibility and benefits to ensure they will be paid for services rendered. The beginning of a new year means that both calendar year deductibles and visit frequency limitations reset. And, with open enrollment, patients may even be covered by a new payor.

Do your homework before patients arrive by obtaining updated insurance information and verifying eligibility at the time of scheduling, if possible. It is also best practice to remind patients when they make an appointment that their plan has a deductible that may be resetting on January 1 and, if that is the case, that payment will be due at the time of service. It is also important to make copies of insurance cards when patients come in for their first visits of the new year.

Failure to collect deductibles, copays and coinsurance at the time of service can be very costly for a practice, as your ability to collect can decrease significantly after the patient leaves the office.

Taking proactive steps to protect your practice by preventing denials, delays in payment and disgruntled patients goes a long way toward ultimately saving time and money.

Please Note: For 2024, the annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries is $240, an increase $14.00 from the 2023 annual deductible of $226. For Medicare Part A, the inpatient hospital deductible will be $1,632 in 2024, an increase of $32 from $1600 in 2023. For more information on the 2024 Medicare Parts A and B premiums and deductibles, click here.