#204: Tactical Tuesday: 4 Ways to Build your Bottom Line through Cash-Based Services

OVERVIEW:

Jason A. Duprat, Entrepreneur, Healthcare Practitioner, and Host of the Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy podcast talks about the top four reasons for opening a  cash-based practice. He highlights the challenges practice owners face when it comes to insurance reimbursements. He also provides tips and options for anyone thinking about starting a cash-based practice.

 

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• There’s a misconception that clinicians and healthcare providers need to accept insurance to create a successful practice.
• Many healthcare professionals are moving away from accepting insurance. There are niche practices finding success through cash-based models, including surgical and primary care. 
• The first reason for having a cash-based practice is there’s less regulation and you have more freedom as the practice owner. 
• When you accept insurance, you’ll need to manage your revenue cycles. This will include submitting bills with some getting declined and some requiring resubmitting. This creates massive problems and issues.  
• When it comes to revenue cycle management, you should hire someone or a company to help you, which means giving up 4-7% of your profits. 
• The second reason for considering a cash-based practice is you get paid upfront. If you accept insurance, you’ll experience delays in payment 30-60-90 days. 
• Insurance-based practices need a lot of cash in the bank to fund business expenses while waiting for the stream of income to come in.
• The third reason is you can provide better service with a cash-based practice. Your patient pool will expand because the middle and upper classes are willing to pay for better service. 
• Jason shares his experiences with his primary care physician who’s part of a direct pay practice. 
• Jason pays $70 a month which includes service benefits like being seen the same day, having a short wait time for appointments, and getting cost-effective generic prescriptions filled.
• Finally, the last reason for starting a cash-based practice is employers are looking to save money. Employee premiums are rising 6-7% annually and employers are eating this expense. 
• One option employers are exploring is providing memberships to direct primary care and supplementing with catastrophic insurance. 
• As a clinician, you can easily sell direct primary care to employers. 
• Jason is considering offering a new course focused on cash-based practices. If you’re thinking about opening a niche practice, contact Jason to share the types of services you’d like to offer and other topics of interest. Contact info: [email protected].

 

3 KEY POINTS:

1. You’ll have a massive amount of freedom as the owner of a cash-based practice.
2. Because cash-based services are paid upfront, you don’t have to deal with revenue cycle management issues and can provide better service for your patients.
3. Insurance premiums continue to rise so employers are looking into alternatives like memberships to direct primary care and cheaper catastrophic health insurance. 

TWEETABLE QUOTES:

“A cash-based practice is where it’s at from the provider standpoint and the patient’s standpoint.” - Jason Duprat

“To me, it’s a no-brainer. Why wouldn’t you want to start a cash-based practice?” - Jason Duprat

 

CONNECT WITH JASON DUPRAT:

LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube | Facebook Group

 

RESOURCES:

• Sign up for one of our free business start-up Masterclasses by heading over to https://healthcareboss.org/masterclass/
• Have a healthcare business question? Text me at 386-284-4955, and I’ll add you to my contacts. Occasionally, I’ll share important announcements and answer your questions as well.
• Do you enjoy our podcast? Leave a rating and review: https://lovethepodcast.com/hea