Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Healthcare Reimbursement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Court approves insurance-discovery software to help recoup jail medical costs
Summary
Commissioners approved a service agreement for an insurance-discovery platform to identify private insurance for jail medical and indigent health claims; staff said early comparisons to peer counties indicate potential six-figure savings and an estimated $55,000 year-to-date recovery.
McLennan County approved a web-based insurance-discovery service July 15 to help identify private insurance coverage that could offset jail medical and indigent-health care costs.
Nut graf: County officials said the software will let the indigent-health office and jail-medical billing team look for private insurers that can be billed for hospital and specialty care expenses. Staff described the service as a strategic first step that can later expand to other jail medical expenditures such as prescription claims.
Details: Heather, the county's indigent-health official, briefed the court on pilot data from other counties and local early returns. She said peer counties report six-figure savings after adopting similar platforms; applying that methodology to McLennan County produced a $55,000 year-to-date recovery estimate. County staff said the platform will initially focus on hospital and specialty-care claims and may expand to prescription billing if it proves cost-effective. David (jail medical) said the county will need staff time to onboard claims but expects existing staff to handle processing without adding positions.
The court voted to approve the service agreement and related documents. Staff said funds to pay vendor subscriptions will be charged to the general fund and administered through the indigent-health department.
Ending: County officials said they will return with periodic reports on recoveries and any recommended process changes after several months of data.
Speakers cited in this article: Heather (indigent health director); David (county jail staff).
