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The topic of insurance can send even the savviest health care providers into a vortex of doubt and disagreement. The most common questions that arise when navigating health insurance are whether a patient is covered, what their deductible is, which services are covered by healthcare plans, and how to facilitate robust communication between all parties involved (client, clinic, and insurer).
Wouldn’t it be fantastic if all the answers existed in one magical place? Imagine if the complexities of insurance were streamlined for your clientele so you could get back to your core mission: to guide them back to health and happiness. Well, there’s no need to imagine such an eventuality, because the future is now. Lightning Step simplifies the billing process, organizes your accounts, and galvanizes your connection to insurance providers.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Health Insurance Coverage for Clients
According to the most recent available annual statistics from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 9% of Americans are uninsured, 1% gets their coverage through the military, 14% are on Medicare, and another 20% receive coverage from Medicaid. But by far the largest source of health insurance comes from employer-subsidized plans. An estimated 49% of workers in the United States rely on their workplace healthcare plans to keep them insured.
49%
of workers in the US rely on their workplace healthcare plans to keep them insured
34%
of Americans receive coverage from Medicare & Medicaid
9%
of Americans are uninsured
Which is why the recent job numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic are especially unsettling. Since the advent of the novel coronavirus, a staggering surge in unemployment has rocked our nation. In the month of April 2020 alone, America shed a record-breaking 20.5 million jobs, sending the national unemployment rate to 14.7%.
And as we know from the previous data mentioned, lost jobs = lost insurance. In addition to the devastating uncertainty that unemployment thrusts onto those suddenly facing a jobless landscape, the loss of health insurance is especially terrifying during a pandemic. Americans are relying more and more on government-subsidized healthcare plans to ensure that they stay healthy in the time of COVID-19.
How Healthcare Organizations Have Been Impacted by COVID-19
It is one thing to be providing health insurance guidance for your clients, but it’s another challenge completely to be providing support and resources to your own employees. The care providers that have been interfacing with patients throughout the pandemic are not getting the mental health resources that they need to deal with what they have been through. It is vital that organizations keep their staff safe and healthy to continue their work This means relying on COVID relief like the 2020 CARES Act, that can help business leaders make better decisions when it comes to their employee’s safety and welfare. Organizations can only continue to focus on their employees and clients if they have support in other areas of their business operations, which is where Lightning Step comes in.
How Lightning Step Can Support Your Organization’s Health Insurance Claims Processing
Even when a patient has stable, consistent health coverage, the health insurance claims process can be complex. Procedures and processes get tangled up in a dizzying whirlwind of red tape and bureaucracy. Claims can go unseen, leading to collection agencies and credit issues. By consolidating the health insurance claims protocols of your organization, you can restore confidence in your payment processes. In-house billing empowers you to skip third-party organizations and deal directly with providers and patients. After all, you are the one caring for your clients, so why add needless confusion to the mix?
Even when a patient has stable, consistent health coverage, the health insurance claims process can be complex. Procedures and processes get tangled up in a dizzying whirlwind of red tape and bureaucracy. Claims can go unseen, leading to collection agencies and credit issues.
One of the most popular features of Lightning Step is our Claims Dashboard. Anything is possible and innovation is just a click away!
A patient’s coverage, payments, and ongoing care details are all organized in one convenient place. By eliminating the headaches caused by navigating health insurance, we may be able to better treat actual headaches (and heartaches, and aches in general). The mission of Lightning Step is to clear the path for doctors, nurses, and administrators who are providing the lifesaving services they were born to deliver. To learn how Lightning Step can consolidate your health insurance protocols, contact us and request a free demo. Your patients deserve quality care at the right price, and Lightning Step is paving the way to a more manageable tomorrow.
