TFRD CONSULTING LLC
LAKE WORTH, FLORIDA

Richard Capezzali. Richard was the founder and CEO of The National Institute For Paralegal Arts and Sciences which through acquisition became Kaplan University where Richard served as EVP of Marketing and Admissions from 1999 to 2010. During that time he was also instrumental in the development of Concord Law School, the nation’s first online law school. After leaving Kaplan, Richard created Education Connection, the nation’s largest education marketing company serving the higher education industry. Education Connection sold to Education Dynamics where Richard then served as President and board member. After leaving Education Dynamics, he co-founded Lake-Haven Recovery a 130 bed IOP in Pompano Beach. During that time, he simultaneously launched The Addiction Advisor, a national marketing company that attracts addicts seeking treatment. Richard serves on the board of Digital Media Solutions, a diversified consumer marketing company spanning multiple consumer verticals. His professional background in the last six years in the addiction treatment space gives him unique insight into the issues faced by treatment providers as they struggle to be profitable in a highly competitive landscape. Here are 10 things to know about how consumer financial obligation affects providers' and hospitals' collection efforts and patients' ability to pay. 1. From 2011 to 2014, the number of consumer payments to healthcare providers increased 193 percent, according to the " 2. When collections efforts fail, a  fairly common occurrence, hospitals take on bad debt. Since 2000, all types of hospitals have provided more than $502 billion in uncompensated care, according to the 3. The majority of physician practices and provider facilities (90 percent) agree that collecting from patients before they leave the office is important to their businesses, according to " The Impact of Consumerism on Provider Revenues 4. Providers are largely in agreement about the difficulty of collecting after patients leave the office: 85 percent report collecting patient financial responsibility post-visit is not a simple task, according to the Availity report. 6. Upfront collections may not be used across the board in healthcare, but this strategy is a growing trend. Eighty-one percent of providers have invested in software and staff to support up-front payment efforts, according to the Availity report. 7. In 2014, hospitals reported just 34 percent of patients were able to pay the full amount requested at the point of service. Physician practices reported 56 percent of patients were able to provide the full amount requested during point-of-service collection efforts, according to the Availity survey. Insurance providers have put treatment centers on review, refusing to pay claims until they can demonstrate they are collecting and not waiving patient financial responsibilities. Our service provides a detailed accounting of all efforts and nothing ensures compliance better than actually recovering patient responsibility.