Accounts Receivable

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Receivables [Abstract]

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Receivable

The Company manages accounts receivable by regularly reviewing its accounts and contracts and by providing appropriate allowances for contractual adjustments and uncollectible amounts. Some of the factors considered by management in determining the amount of such allowances are the historical trends of cash collections, contractual and bad debt write-offs, accounts receivable agings, established fee schedules, contracts with payors, changes in payor mix and procedure statistics. Actual collections of accounts receivable in subsequent periods may require changes in the estimated contractual allowance and provision for uncollectibles. The Company tests its analysis by comparing cash collections to net patient revenues and monitoring self-pay utilization. In addition, when actual collection percentages differ from expected results, on a contract by contract basis, supplemental detailed reviews of the outstanding accounts receivable balances may be performed by the Company’s billing operations to determine whether there are facts and circumstances existing that may cause a different conclusion as to the estimate of the collectability of that contract’s accounts receivable from the estimate resulting from using the historical collection experience. The Company also supplements its allowance for doubtful accounts policy for its physician services quarterly using a hindsight calculation that utilizes write-off data for all payor classes during the previous 12-month period to estimate the allowance for doubtful accounts at a point in time. Changes in these estimates are charged or credited to the consolidated statements of operations in the period of change. Material changes in estimates may result from unforeseen write-offs of patient or third party accounts receivable, unsuccessful disputes with managed care payors, adverse macro-economic conditions which limit patients’ ability to meet their financial obligations for the care provided by physicians, or broad changes to government regulations that adversely impact reimbursement rates for services provided by the Company. Significant changes in payor mix, business office operations, general economic conditions and health care coverage provided by federal or state governments or private insurers may have a significant impact on the Company’s estimates and significantly affect its results of operations and cash flows.

Due to the nature of the Company's operations, it is required to separate the presentation of its bad debt expense on the consolidated statement of earnings. The Company records the portion of its bad debts associated with its physician services segment as a component of net revenue in the accompanying consolidated statement of earnings, and the remaining portion, which is associated with its ambulatory services segment, is recorded as a component of other operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statement of earnings. The bifurcation is a result of the Company's ability to assess the ultimate collection of the patient service revenue associated with its ambulatory services segment before services are provided. The Company's ambulatory services segment is generally able to verify a patient's insurance coverage and ability to pay before services are provided as those services are pre-scheduled and non-emergent. Bad debt expense for the ambulatory services segment is included in other operating expenses and was approximately $21.9 million, $21.7 million and $19.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Bad debt expense related to physician services was $117.0 million during the period from July 16, 2014 through December 31, 2014 and is included as a reduction to revenues in the accompanying consolidated statements of earnings.

At December 31, 2014 and 2013 allowances for doubtful accounts were $113.4 million and $27.9 million, respectively. The significant increase in the Company's allowance for doubtful accounts as of December 31, 2014 was primarily due to the Sheridan acquisition. At December 31, 2014, approximately 73% of the Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts was related to receivables for fee for service patient visits. The principal exposure for uncollectible fee for service visits is from self-pay patients and, to a lesser extent, for co-payments and deductibles from patients with insurance. Concentration of credit risk is limited by the diversity and number of hospitals, patients, payors and by the geographic dispersion of the Company’s operations.