Payment Plan Overview and Screens

In the Billing portal, there is a category for Payment Posting. Within that category is found the Payment Plan Screen. Users will use this screen to create payment plans for patient balances. Payment Plans allow patients to pay off substantial outstanding balances over an extended period. Enrolling a patient in a payment plan can substantially increase the likelihood of the bill being paid in full, as it allows for the consistent collection of the agreed-upon amount each billing cycle until the entire balance is satisfied.

Setup Information

There are several company settings and other roles that will affect exactly how payment plans are created.  You can find an explanation for each setting along with the default values that are applied in the Payment Plan Setup documentation. As a practice, you will be responsible for updating these settings to meet your business rules.

The Payment Plan screen can be found in the Billing portal under the Payment Plan category on the navigation bar. This screen by default will display all payment plans that exist currently in any status. In addition, the screen allows you to perform a variety of other tasks including searching, reporting, making changes, and opening existing payment plans. 

Fields

• Checkbox: This box will be used to mark the payment plan(s) as part of the selection.
• ID: The payment plan ID#.
  
• Status: The current status of the payment plan.
• Patient Chart Number: The patient ID/chart number connected to the payment plan.
• Patient Name: The patient name connected to the payment plan.
• Installment Total: The total number of installments of the payment plan.
• Installment Comment: The payment plan comments.
• Plan Total: The adjusted plan total of the payment plan.
• Total Payments: The total amount collected on the payment plan.
• Remaining Total: The total unpaid amount of the payment plan (Plan Total minus Total Payments).
• Installments: The installment amount for each payment on the payment plan.
• Due Date: The due date for the payment plan.
• Last Payment: The date of the last payment made on the payment plan.
• Payment Due: Shows if a payment is due on the payment plan.
• Credit Card: Shows if a credit card is on file for the payment plan.

Advanced Search

The Advanced Search feature allows for the most complicated and specific types of searches.  By clicking the Advanced Search button, a panel with search criteria will be displayed on the left-hand side of the screen.  Select the criteria that are pertinent, then click the Search button on the panel.

Buttons at the top of the screen

• New:
  • The New button will allow you to create a new payment plan for a patient.  
    1. Click New and you will be prompted to search and select a patient. 
    2. The "New Payment Plan" window will be opened and the necessary details can be entered to generate a payment plan. 
       
       
• Open button:
  • The Open button will open the Payment Plan Details screen in a pop-up window for the payment plan selected in the Results Grid.
    
    
• More > Change Display Settings:
  • The Change Display settings option allows a user to determine exactly which data points are displayed in the Results Grid.  You can also determine the Maximum number of rows that are returned.
• More > Process Non-Recurring Payments:
  • The Process Non-Recurring Payments option will open a window that lets a user process a payment for a balance that is not included as part of the payment plan.
    
• More > Payment Plan Payments Report:
  • The Payment Plan Payments Report option will allow the user to run a report on failed recurring payments for payment plans by a specific date range.

Gear Icon

The ‘Gear’ icon located in the upper right-hand corner provides access to some basic settings and options.

• Security: This option will open the ‘Role Setup’ screen which is where you can determine who has access to the window.
• Screen: This option is not used here.
• Company: This option is not used here.
• User: This option will provide access to User Settings related to Payment Plans. Currently, there are none.
• Setup: This option is not used here.
• Print: This option is not used here.
• Audit: Receipt auditing is not currently supported from this window.
• Refresh: This option will refresh the window.
• Close: This option is not used here. 

The Payment Plan Details screen can be accessed by double-clicking on a payment plan from the Payment Plan screen. You can also access this screen by highlighting a payment plan and clicking the "Open" button. This screen can be used to review or edit a payment plan.

Fields

Payment Plan Details

• Plan Information: The basic plan information such as payment plan ID, initial total amount, and the type of payment plan.
• Patient Information: The patient's name, DOB, and chart #.
• Responsible Party: The responsible party (Name and SysID) for the payment plan.
• Comment: Any comments added to the payment plan.
• Status: The status that the payment plan is currently in. The possible payment plan statuses are:
  • Completed: The entire payment plan balance was paid in full and no remaining balance exists.
    
  • Active: The Payment Plan is active with expected payment amounts and dates.
  • Past Due: The payment plan has an installment that has been deemed past due.
  • Hold: The payment plan is in a hold state.
  • Canceled: The payment plan has been canceled.
  • Error: The system was unable to automatically associate the receipt balance to a claim and the receipt must be reconciled manually.
  • Reversed: This status is set after the Reverse Receipt process has been executed.
  • Ignore: This status is used to exclude receipts from being processed by the Receipt Disbursement Logic.
• Installment Start Date: The date that the first payment plan installment is due.
• Installment End Date: The date that the last payment plan installment is due.
• Next Due Date: The date that the next payment plan installment is due.
• Total: The total amount that is included as part of the payment plan.
• Paid: The total amount that has been paid up to date on the payment plan.
• Remaining: The total balance remaining on the payment plan.
• Installments: The amount due on each installment of the payment plan.
• Card on File: Indicates if there is a card on file for this payment plan (Yes/No).
• Recurring Payment: Indicates if there is a recurring payment set up for this payment plan (Yes/No).
• Exclude Claims from Statement: Indicates if claims included in this payment plan are excluded from statements (Yes/No).
• Do Not Send A Statement: Indicates if flagged to not send a statement for this payment plan (Yes/No).

Detail Actions

• Print Plan: Click Print Plan to print the payment plan details.
• Update Plan: Click Update Plan to update payment plan fields such as the Installment Amount, Installment Count, Total Amount, the "Recurring Payment" flag, the "Exclude Payment Plan Claims from Statements" flag, and the "Do Not Send Patient Statement" flag.
• Update Status: Click Update Status to change the payment plan status based on its current status.
• Resp Party: Click Resp Party to update the responsible party for the payment plan.
• Deferment: Click Deferment to defer (push back the due date) one or multiple installments on the payment plan by selecting a future date to which the installment will be deferred.
• Add Card: Click Add Card to save a patient credit card and associate it with the payment plan for recurring and manual processing.

Included Payment Plan Balance Claims

This section allows a user to see any claims associated with the Payment Plan.

• Checkbox: This box is used to mark the claim(s) included in the payment plan balance. 
• Claim ID: The claim ID# associated with the payment plan balance. Clicking the link will open the claim within the claim window.
  • You can also click the down arrow to view the claim's Procedures, Payments, or Comments.
• Claim DOS: The claim date of service associated with the payment plan. Clicking the link will open the claim details.
• Status: The claim(s) current status.
• Payer: The Payer on the claim.
• Charges: The total charges on the claim.
• Payments: Any payments applied on the claim.
• Adjustments: Any adjustments applied on the claim.
• Balance: The total balance on the claim.

Claim actions

• Remove Claim: Click Remove Claim to remove a claim from being included in the payment plan balance. 

Payment Plan Summary

This section is used to display a comprehensive summary of each installment within the payment plan.

• #: The installment number associated with the payment plan.
• Installment Due Date: The payment due date for the scheduled payment plan installment.
• Installment Amount: The payment amount for the scheduled payment plan installment.
• Paid Amount: The paid amount for the scheduled payment plan installment.
• Paid Dates: The date the payment was collected for the scheduled payment plan installment.