Managing Cash Flow Between Medicare and Medicaid Payments

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are responsible for managing all aspects of these federal programs for patients, physicians and healthcare institutions throughout the country. These government agencies can sometimes be painfully slow in processing requests for payment from hospitals, clinics and other healthcare institutions. As a result, these medical facilities may experience monetary shortfalls and tightening of budget expenditures while awaiting payments from government agencies. In the private insurance sector, matters can be even worse. While payments are certain to arrive, the inevitable delays can create serious cash flow issues that may prevent hospitals from providing the best care possible for their patients.

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A Cash Flow Solution for Medical Facilities

Hospitals, clinics and private medical practices can often monetize their outstanding invoices with Medicare, Medicaid and major insurance companies by applying for accounts receivable financing arrangements with an asset-based lending company. These alternative lending programs are designed to serve businesses that may be overextended in the traditional credit marketplace or that require rapid solutions to their cash flow difficulties. By using the value of outstanding accounts with Medicaid, Medicare and other insurers as collateral for loans, hospitals can enjoy added financial flexibility and access to necessary funding for patient care initiatives, upgrades to equipment and other ongoing expenses.

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Ongoing Support for Medical Services

Asset-based lines of credit can allow medical facilities to manage their financial situations more proactively. By leveraging their outstanding invoices with federal and private insurers to obtain operating funding, healthcare providers can amass a cash reserve that can be drawn upon as needed to manage hospital and clinic expenses. These sums can be repaid as agreed over time, replenishing the amount of available credit for medical facilities and private practices. Funds from asset-based loans can be used to finance medical staffing payroll, 941 obligations, to purchase new equipment, to pay suppliers and vendors or for any other business-related expense. Invoice loan solutions allow optimal flexibility for medical facilities and provide the funding necessary to bridge the gap between the date that services are rendered to patients and the receipt of insurance payments from Medicaid, Medicare and other medical insurance companies.

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The asset-based lending solutions from 1st Commercial Credit are ideal for hospitals, clinics and medical centers. In most cases, the company's professional lending staff can provide a decision on loan applications within one business day after all documentation has been received and can put cash in the hands of hospital and medical facility administrators within five working days. The rapid turnaround times available from 1st Commercial Credit can provide real help for healthcare providers in need of a fast solution to cash flow difficulties in today's medical marketplace.

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Asset-Based Lending Provides Added Capital for Healthcare Providers

Once spurned by traditional financial advisors, alternative lending arrangements are gaining in popularity and acceptance throughout the business finance world. Asset-based lending companies offer purchase order funding, invoice loans and lines of credit and other alternatives to traditional bank loans. The reduced availability of credit throughout the U.S. economy has made these lending arrangements an attractive option for cash-strapped healthcare providers struggling to maintain quality patient care in the competitive medical marketplace.

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Factoring and Asset-Based Loans

Modern asset-based lending models are based on the financial practice of factoring, which allows businesses to sell off their pending accounts receivable invoices to finance companies at a small discount to obtain funds immediately. Factoring arrangements are set up as one-time transactions and can be repeated as invoices accumulate and as healthcare facility needs dictate.

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While these financial arrangements offer added flexibility for medical clinics, private practices and smaller hospitals, they lack the convenience and ease of use that asset-based lines of credit can often provide for these institutions. By using outstanding invoices from Medicare, Medicaid and other established medical insurers as collateral for revolving lines of credit, healthcare providers can create a cash reserve that provides ongoing financial flexibility for their organizations.

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Recognized Benefits for Small Businesses

The value of asset-based loans and lines of credit has been noted by major financial journals. Forbes published an article in April 2013 that described the advantages of alternative lending arrangements. Cheryl Conner's treatise praised the flexibility of asset-based lending and the availability of these loans for businesses that may have experienced credit issues in the past or that lack the traditional collateral to obtain longer-term loans from banks and major lending institutions. Medical accounts receivable lenders can often fund loans for smaller medical facilities that may have a few late-pay issues on their credit reports or that have already exhausted the traditional lending arrangements available to them in the current financial marketplace.

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Private Practices Can Benefit Most

Private medical practices can often benefit most from asset-based loans. The rapid turnaround time and easier access to funding are ideal for physicians and specialists who require added equipment or larger offices to manage their existing patient base. By leveraging the value of outstanding invoices due from Medicare, Medicaid and private medical insurance companies into funding for these expenditures, private practices can compete with larger medical institutions and provide elite medical services for their patients.

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Alternative lenders like 1st Commercial Credit can provide access to funding for healthcare providers and allow them to expand their operations for improved patient care and increased growth. The asset-based loans available from these sources are an excellent cash flow management tool for medical facilities and private practices.