In Texas, being HIPAA compliant does not automatically mean a patient balance is ready for collections. Before recovery begins, the provider should confirm that the patient received the required itemized bill, insurance was billed on time, surprise-billing protections do not reduce the balance, and only the minimum necessary patient information is transferred for collection.
Collect911 combines HIPAA-conscious medical debt recovery with Texas-specific billing compliance, helping healthcare providers move clean, verified balances into our $15 fixed-fee program while reserving contingency collections for older and more difficult accounts.
Protecting your practice’s reputation, Collect911 holds licenses in all 50 states, ensuring a safe approach for every patient interaction. We provide free litigation and bankruptcy scrubs with zero onboarding or annual fees. Our SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA-compliant systems ensure total data security, backed by a 4.85/5 rating from over 2,000 professional reviews. Delivering high recovery rates!
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Revenue Recovery Pricing Designed for Texas Scale
We believe in transparent, results-driven partnerships that prioritize your cash flow without the typical overhead of a traditional collection agency. Our Current fee structures are built for speed:
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The $15 Fixed-Fee Solution: You retain 100% of the recovered balance. This is the ultimate “Account Reconciliation” tool for early-stage accounts that simply need a professional nudge.
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The 40% Contingency Model: For older or more complex balances, we work on a performance basis. If there is no recovery, there is no fee.
The CPA Edge:
A Net-Zero Cost Strategy Many of our Texas partners find that the $15 fixed-fee service essentially pays for itself. In the Current tax environment, these fees are commonly categorized as a deductible business expense when used in the normal course of revenue cycle management. After a quick consultation with your CPA, you may find that professional recovery becomes a tax-neutral investment in your practice’s stability.
The Clinical Philosophy of Account Reconciliation
The Patient-Responsibility Gap
Modern billing is no longer just about insurance processing; it is about managing the “Patient-Responsibility Gap.” With the rise of high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) across the Lone Star State, patients are often hit with unexpected costs that they aren’t prepared to pay. These balances aren’t usually a sign of refusal, but of confusion. We step in as an extension of your office to provide the clarity needed to resolve these accounts.
Peace of Office: Defeating Staff Burnout
When your front desk staff is forced to double as a collection department, productivity and morale plummet. Your team was hired for clinical empathy, not to manage financial friction. Outsourcing these uncomfortable conversations to our Account Reconciliation Team allows your staff to return to their core work, significantly reducing burnout and improving the patient experience in the waiting room.
The Respectful Friction Model
We protect your hard-earned 5-star reputation on Google and Healthgrades through “Respectful Friction.” By working with patients to find solutions rather than arguing against them, we secure payments while keeping the patient-provider relationship intact. This diplomatic approach ensures full HIPAA compliance and prevents the “review-bombing” that can occur with aggressive tactics.
Bilingual Outreach for a Diverse Texas
Texas is a multicultural powerhouse, and communication is key to recovery. Our Spanish-speaking collectors provide an inclusive experience that removes linguistic barriers, leading to faster resolutions and higher satisfaction for your entire patient population.
Recent Clinical Recovery Results
Result 1: Cosmetic Surgery Specialist – Dallas, TX
A prominent cosmetic surgery practice in Dallas was struggling with post-procedure balances that were lingering past 90 days.
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The Case: High-value elective accounts were falling into “silent drift” as patients avoided the front desk’s follow-up calls.
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The Respectful Intervention: We employed secure, HIPAA-compliant email and text outreach to offer discrete payment pathways.
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The Financial Result: We recovered $24,500 within 60 days, maintaining the practice’s elite reputation in the DFW regional healthcare hub.
Result 2: Family Dental & Orthodontic Practice – San Antonio, TX
A high-volume orthodontic clinic near the South Texas Medical Center found its cash flow hampered by incomplete payment plans.
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The Challenge: Long-term treatment plans were being abandoned financially mid-cycle.
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The Respectful Intervention: Our team performed a full “Patient Scrub” and initiated a bilingual outreach campaign.
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The Financial Result: By reconciling the accounts with empathy, we recovered $12,800 and successfully returned several patients to their active treatment schedules.
The Security Suite: Clinical-Grade Protection
We treat your data with the same level of care you provide your patients. Our Current “Patient Scrub” includes:
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Comprehensive Screening: Litigation checks, bankruptcy scrubs, and USPS address verification to ensure we contact the right person at the right time.
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Skip Tracing: Utilizing advanced tools to locate patients who have moved without updating their records.
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Quality Control: Every call is recorded and reviewed to prevent “rogue collectors” and ensure every interaction meets our respectful standards.
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Modern Channels: We offer secure, HIPAA-compliant email and text options for faster response times.
Targeted Areas of Expertise
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Healthcare & Medical (Hospitals/Clinics)
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Dental (General/Orthodontics)
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Senior Living (Assisted/Skilled Nursing)
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Fertility Clinics
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Cosmetic Surgery
Regulatory Landscape & The No Surprises Act
Navigating recovery in Texas requires strict adherence to both federal and state mandates. We ensure compliance with the Texas Debt Collection Act (TDCA) and federal FDCPA/HIPAA privacy rules. Crucially, our Account Reconciliation Team is trained on the No Surprises Act, ensuring that patient billing for out-of-network services and emergency care is handled with the required disclosures and transparency. This protectively manages patient expectations and prevents the legal pitfalls that can arise from “surprise” billing disputes, providing a secure reputation firewall for your practice.
Healthcare-Focused FAQs
Does Texas medical privacy law apply in addition to HIPAA when patient accounts are sent to collections?
Yes. Texas healthcare organizations must consider both federal HIPAA requirements and the Texas Medical Records Privacy Act (TMRPA). Texas defines covered entities broadly and separately protects patient health information at the state level. The Texas Attorney General also confirms that patient permission is generally not required when protected health information is shared for legitimate payment activities, but the disclosure must still comply with applicable privacy and security requirements.
Does a Texas healthcare provider have to send an itemized bill before pursuing a patient through collections?
Yes. Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 185 requires covered healthcare providers to issue an itemized bill showing the services and supplies provided and the amounts claimed to be due from the patient. The statute specifically says a healthcare provider may not pursue debt collection for those services or supplies unless it has complied with the itemized-billing requirement.
What happens if a Texas medical provider waits too long to bill the patient or insurance?
Texas generally requires a healthcare provider to bill the patient or responsible party no later than the first day of the 11th month after the services were provided, unless another statutory billing rule applies. When insurance or another third-party payer must be billed, the applicable contract or payer deadline may control. If a provider violates the timely-billing statute, Texas can bar recovery from the patient of amounts the patient would not have owed had timely billing occurred.
Can a Texas medical provider send a personal-injury patient’s bill directly to the patient’s attorney?
For services provided on or after September 1, 2025, Texas law specifically allows a healthcare provider treating a patient in connection with a personal-injury claim to satisfy the patient-billing requirement by submitting the bill to the patient’s attorney, when the patient is represented and unless the patient or other responsible party directs otherwise. The bill must still be submitted within the applicable timely-billing period.
Can a Texas provider collect an out-of-network balance if the EOB says the patient owes less?
Only the legally permitted patient-responsibility amount should be pursued. Texas balance-billing protections apply to specified out-of-network services, and current Texas insurance law requires applicable EOBs to identify the amount the provider may bill the insured, including deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, and other permitted patient responsibility. Before an account enters collections, the provider should reconcile the patient ledger against the final EOB rather than using the provider’s original charge as the collection balance.
Can a HIPAA-compliant medical collection agency use skip tracing to locate a Texas patient?
Yes, within applicable limits. HHS specifically recognizes obtaining location information as a payment activity under HIPAA when it is needed to collect amounts owed. A healthcare provider and its business associate may therefore use appropriate location-information services, but they must still comply with HIPAA’s privacy requirements and any restrictions imposed by the FDCPA and other applicable law. This allows legitimate skip tracing without turning a collection account into an unrestricted disclosure of medical information.
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