What Are The Risks for Doctors When Accepting Personal Injury Letters of Protection?
For many medical doctors, a personal injury letter of protection (LOP) is an attractive option when it comes to treating injured patients. The LOP promises payment in exchange for the doctor providing medical care. However, there are risks associated with accepting this type of payment that all doctors should be aware of. Let’s take a look at what these risks are and how they can be avoided.
The Risk of Delayed Payment
One risk associated with accepting a personal injury letter of protection is that you may not receive your payment as quickly as you expect. Because the funds are coming from a third-party such as an insurance company or law firm, it can take several months, sometimes years, to get paid out. As a result, you may need to wait longer than normal before receiving payment from your patient—which can put a strain on your finances if you’re relying on that money to cover the cost of providing care.
The Risk of Rejection
Another potential risk associated with accepting LOPs is that the case could be lost after the treatment has been provided. This means that even though you may have already performed your services, you could still find yourself without payment for those services if the plaintiff loses their personal injury case.
Remove Your Risk, Increase Your Cash Flow
To avoid these common issues, make sure to double-check any agreements before signing them and research the attorney thoroughly In order to ensure that you don’t experience any significant delays or losses in getting paid. Make sure that the attorney has a history of successfully resolving plaintiff cases in a timely manner so you know you won’t be waiting too long before getting paid.
If this seems too risky or you feel you will be waiting too long to get paid for your services, you can engage a company like Elite Medical Receivables Solutions which can purchase your outstanding AR. By working with Elite you will get paid quickly, and Elite will wait for the cases to resolve and take the risk of a case being lost. Regardless of the outcome, you will have been paid for your services.
Personal injury letters of protection can provide an attractive option for doctors looking for ways to treat injured patients without having to worry about upfront payments or collections issues down the road. However, there are risks associated with accepting these types of payments that all medical professionals should be aware of before entering into any agreements with personal injury attorneys. By understanding the risks and taking steps to mitigate these risks, doctors can ensure they can manage consistent cash flow while offering medical services using personal injury LOPs as payment methods.
If you have questions about leveraging letters of protection for treating injured plaintiffs, feel free to contact Elite and we can help you put in place the best solution, whether you have a large portfolio of LOPs or are just considering starting out in this arena.
Contact us at Elite to learn more about how we can help you manage your cash flow and grow your practice.
888.242.4012 or funding@elitemerec.com