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Bad Debt Write-off for Public Health
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INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jackie Morgan, Human Services Agency - Business Operations, Director, 704-296-4825
ACTION REQUESTED:
Authorize the County Manager to approve write-offs for eligible outstanding balances to maintain compliance with the Human Services Agency Public Health Department’s Bad Debt Write-off Policy.
PRIOR BOARD ACTIONS:
None.
BACKGROUND:
The Human Services Agency requests approval to complete the Bad Debt Write-off process for Public Health within our Electronic Health Record System, CureMD. To remain in compliance with State requirements and Agency policy, Public Health is required to make every reasonable effort to collect payment for debt owed by uninsured patients and attempt to collect patient balances owed after 3rd Party Payers (e.g. insurance) have been billed and adjudicated claims, and it has been determined by the 3rd Party Payer that the remaining balance is the patient’s responsibility.
The Bad Debt Write-Off process enables the Human Services’ billing team to maintain accurate and compliant accounting ledgers. To ensure potential revenue collections are not overstated for debt balances that are deemed uncollectible and fall outside the guidelines allowed by the Public Health ledger, local government Public Health entities utilize two established mechanisms to address and remove outstanding patient debt balances: 1) Internal Bad Debt Write-Off for debts less than $50, and 2) Participation in the NC Debt Set-Off Collection Program for qualifying debts of $50 or more.
Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 105A 1-16 (Setoff Debt Collection Act), local governments may submit qualifying delinquent debts to the N.C. Department of Revenue for collection through the Debt Set-Off Collection Program, provided statutory and administrative requirements are met, including minimum debt balance thresholds of $50 or more that is at least 60 days delinquent and required identifying information (the patient must have a Social Security Number).
The amounts listed below represent the total eligible debt to be written off by payer source for all eligible Public Health accounts that have been outstanding for more than 12 months, have balances under $50, and for which staff have completed reasonable collection efforts with the clients but have been unable to collect the balance due. Because the balance on these accounts falls below the minimum $50 threshold required for submission to the NC Setoff Debt Collection Program (Debt Setoff), completing the Debt Write-Off action is necessary to complete the process of closing out the account balance in CureMD and maintain compliance with the Agency’s Bad Debt Write-Off Policy.
Public Health Bad Debt Write-Off FYE 2025
Commercial $710.15
Private Pay $696.49
Total $1,406.64
In accordance with policy, Bad Debt Write-Off and Debt Setoff amounts will be reviewed on an annual basis, with reports provided to the Consolidated Human Services Board and the Board of County Commissioners.
The Consolidated Human Services Board approved recommendation of this action at its January 12, 2026 meeting.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
A total balance of $1,406.64 will be written-off for FYE 2025.