Contact:

James Quinn

Cohen & Pratt

800.630.4940

                                                             FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cohen & Pratt completes training for HIPAA compliance to help health care providers improve their cash flow

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, November 15, 2004 – Cohen & Pratt, a leading provider of commercial debt collection services, today announced that they have completed corporate training for HIPAA compliance.  This will enable them to service companies in the healthcare and medical industries that want to improve their cash flow through better management of their accounts receivable.

HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, and was enacted to reform healthcare by developing standards and requirements for the maintenance and transmission of personal health information.  Everyone who provides or receives medical care in the United States is affected by HIPAA.

Medical and healthcare providers sometimes face a unique dilemma when dealing with their accounts receivable.  According to Cohen & Pratt CEO, Fred McKee, “Health care providers have a delicate balancing act when it comes to collecting overdue invoices.  They need to get paid so they can stay in business, but they must also handle their collections with care and compassion because they’re extremely conscious about maintaining a strong relationship with their community.  Debt collections and compassion aren’t normally used in the same sentence, but that’s what it takes to maintain a healthy cash flow for healthcare and medical providers.”

Some healthcare providers try to collect outstanding debt on their own, but often learn through experience that it’s best to call in an expert after an invoice is left unpaid after 60 days.  After that period of time, the probability of an invoice being paid in full decreases significantly with each passing month.  One reason why those in the healthcare industry are slow to use professional collection services is because they don’t understand that the HIPAA Privacy Rule allows covered entities to use debt collection agencies due to the fact that debt collection is a payment activity as defined in 45 CFR 164.501.

For more information on how healthcare providers can improve cash flow and maintain HIPAA compliance, contact James Quinn at 800.630.4940, JQuinn@cohenandpratt.com or visit www.cohenandpratt.com.  

About Cohen & Pratt

Cohen & Pratt offers professional accounts receivable management services specializing in commercial debt collection.  They are a full-service collection agency that handles all aspects of the accounts receivable recovery process including free credit consultations and counseling, asset investigations, skip tracing and litigation referrals.  They also provide a risk-free service, which ensures that clients will get paid or they will pay no fee.

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