Alternate Late Charge Calculation

The Alternate Late Charge Calculation feature helps you identify accounts where there are late charges present and where the expected payment for the account would change as a result of being processed with the late charges included. Throughout Contract Manager, the expected payment that is calculated to include late charges is referred to as the “Late Charge Alternate Calculation,” and the variance between the original expected payment and the Late Charge Alternate Calculation is referred to as the “Late Charge Alternate Variance.”

To use the Alternate Late Charge Calculation feature, you must request that this feature be enabled for your facility, and your facility must define the parameter thresholds to determine the accounts that should be included in late charge calculations.

  • Late Charge Detail Charges Threshold – The minimum dollar amount to include in late charges
    • Minimum: $00.01
    • Default: $35.00
  • Late Charge Reprice Threshold – The minimum dollar amount of the variance between the original expected payment and the late charge alternate calculation.
    •  Minimum: $00.01
    •  Default: $50.00
  • Late Charge Detail Post Days After – The number of days past the claim submit date when detail charges become included in late charge calculations.
    •  Minimum: 1
    • Default: 10
    • Max: 30
  • Late Charge Claim Days Back – The number of days backward (from the date the Late Charge Calculator is turned on for your facility) to back process eligible claims.
    • Minimum: 5
    • Default: 60
    • Max: 180

Once the Alternate Late Charge Calculation feature is enabled for your facility, you can use the Account Research from Worklist page to search for accounts with late charges that meet the thresholds defined by your facility. To search for late charge accounts, select Late Charge Alt Calc from the Additional Amount list, select an operator (<, >, =, and so on), and type an amount.

The Account Worklist and Worklist Summary pages both display Late Charge Alternate Calculation and Late Charge Alternate Variance values for all accounts with associated late charges. In addition, the Patient Account Audit page displays a Late Charge Alternate Calculation Summary section with more information about the associated late charges and resulting calculations.

If you review an account and decide not to resubmit the claim to collect the associated late charges, you can exclude that account from all subsequent late charge worklists and reports by overriding the alternate calculation status from Active to Overridden.

Note: Once you override an alternate calculation status, you cannot return it to an active status.