The Los Angeles County Medical Association is now offering member discounts on a new medical debt collections service from Bridgeport Financial Inc., a collections agency and consultant in San Francisco. LACMA members can receive 30 percent off collections services and 40 percent off accounts requiring legal handling.

Bridgeport Financial's collection agency services and educational training achieve a return rate three times higher than the industry average, according to Bridgeport officials.

"Since healthcare transactions are frequently built around a relationship, we have created a communications style that helps us convert the collections transaction back to a relationship," says Christine Ann Harbridge, president and founder of Bridgeport Financial. "For example, if we call a patient who hasn't paid his bill because he isn't employed, we will refer him to CalJOBS, a state-sponsored employer job listing. If we call an insurance company, we will use a friendly, positive approach over the phone that focuses on the individual."

LACMA members will also receive 10 percent off educational seminars and in-house sessions specifically designed for a physician's practice. In addition, Bridgeport has agreed to offer free advice to LACMA members when they have a collections-related question.

"We've learned that for every dollar the doctor is charging, 21 cents is not being collected in the first 90 days," Harbridge says. "We not only help physicians collect money from their clients, we help them find better internal processes enabling them to collect debt themselves."

Finally, Bridgeport Financial will contribute 10 percent of all principal earnings from new business to the LACMA Economic Advocacy Department. These contributions will go toward the department's annual education and training courses on reimbursement and collections.

For more information, call Harbridge at 415/216-4664 or visit www.bridgeportfinancial.com.