Medical Waste Invoices: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Investing time in monitoring your invoices can yield savings - a lot of savings.
In this article, you’ll learn how to see the hidden problems on your medical waste invoices. This can be daunting, but you can use this information to your advantage: these problems actually point to savings opportunities!
Medical Waste Invoice Line Items
Your medical waste invoices should be itemized so you can see exactly what you’re paying for. Invoices that list one lump sum obscure your rates.
Take a look at the invoice below - it has the fuel, energy, and disposal fees listed. It also includes a late fee.
Take a look at the invoice below - it has the fuel, energy, and disposal fees listed. It also includes a late fee.
One of the first things we review for our new clients is their medical waste invoice history. Itemized invoices make it easy to see when your rates increase and which fees increase. Maybe your fuel fees stay static, but the energy charge goes through the roof. Or maybe your late fees suddenly start increasing.
If you don’t have an itemized invoice, you won’t know what fees have changed and which remain the same. This becomes critical for our clients because the medical disposal service contracts we negotiate always contain language that eliminates or caps these fees at a certain rate. If we can’t see the fees, we don’t know if the hauler is charging according to the specifications in the contract.
We make sure that our clients’ invoices are transparent and that their contracts protect their interests - and their bottom line! Are you a good candidate for a waste audit - and invoice monitoring?
How Invoices Help Us Hold Waste Vendors Accountable
Invoices can give us a baseline for price expectations and point to contract gaps.
Base service rates: Your invoices will show your rate for your services - but it won’t show how much those rates have increased in the past six months. To find that, we look at your contract and your invoices history. The rate specified in your contract shows what you should pay each month for your services. But what’s not in your contract actually tells us more than what is. If you don’t have language prohibiting price spikes, we know you’re almost always going to get them. If you don’t have terms capping rate increases over the term of your contract, your base rates are going to rise. We quickly remedy these gaps in coverage for our clients when they sign up for a waste audit!
Most vendors will increase rates at least once a year, which means that over the term of your contract your rates can increases more than 100%! Is your contract protecting you from these?
Billing discrepancies: We review every one of our clients waste invoices for every location in their portfolio. So if the disposal fee jumps a few hundred dollars, we’ll see it and get the necessary billing credits on your behalf. We find invoice errors occur 10% of the time - are you and your staff catching them?
When you sign up for a free medical audit, you’re putting our industry expertise to work for you. We find where you’re being overcharged, and we find the solutions that are right for you, your locations, and your industry.
Medical waste invoices can show where you’re overspending
Invoices can give us a baseline for price expectations and point to contract gaps.
Benchline red bag disposal pricing: These fees give us an idea of what you should pay each month for each of these categories. If the disposal fee jumps a few hundred dollars, you’ll know that’s abnormal - if we’re paying attention to the monthly invoices.
And if you’re familiar with your invoices, you’ll know when errors happen. (We estimate that invoice errors occur 10% of the time - and can sometimes be incredibly costly.)
Waste contract gaps: If you notice that you’re consistently getting price hikes, or that your fuel charges suspiciously increase every few months, you need to take a good look at your contract.
Another way to prevent price hikes? Make sure your contract is airtight; make sure it does not allow disposal companies to increase their hikes over a certain percentage.
This is part of the reason offer monthly invoice monitoring. Medical disposal companies are notorious for randomly jacking up their disposal fees - just like waste disposal companies!
Do these vendors charge for their services? Absolutely. They provide a vital service, and there are a lot of valid services that are legitimately billable. But that doesn’t mean you should be overcharged.
Safety and savings are not mutually exclusive when it comes to medical waste disposal.
What do your invoices show you?
Take some time to go over the last six months of your invoices and ask these questions:
Are my disposal fees steady? Or is there a rate increase?
Are there charges I can’t explain?
Do my prices reflect market costs?
Familiarizing yourself with your invoices can tremendously impact your bottom line.
Short on time? You’re probably a great candidate for a professional medical waste audit.
Our professional, exhaustive audits will find every savings opportunity available to you - and they’re guaranteed cash-flow positive!
What questions do you have about medical waste disposal management? Sound off in the comments below!
Medical Waste Disposal 101: How It's Done
Learn exactly what happens to your medical waste - and the pros and cons of different processes!
Maybe you’re not sure what exactly happens to your medical waste. Or maybe you just want to make sure that you’re handling yours in the safest way possible.
Put those concerns to rest! In this article, I’ll guide you through the ins and outs of the red bag waste disposal process.
Not sure what medical waste is?
Let’s look at how medical disposal is sanitized and disposed of and how often it’s typically picked up.
At the end of this article, you’ll know exactly what happens to your medical waste - and the pros and cons of different processes!
The Medical Waste Disposal Process
Medical waste must be picked up from your site by a licensed biohazard waste hauler. They take it to a special facility where they first sanitize the waste so that it can then be disposed of. This sanitization process happens through either autoclave or through incineration.
Incineration is exactly what it sounds like - it burns the waste products. Unfortunately this process produces gases that some companies have released directly back into the environment, which is less than ideal. It also creates ashes, which often can’t just be thrown out with regular waste. More medical waste tends to be neutralized through autoclave, but particularly dangerous materials tend to be incinerated.
Autoclave is more expensive, but it’s more efficient - and, some would argue, safer. All the medical waste goes in a drum that is then pressurized and heated. This process kills germs and micro-organism, and the waste becomes like any other trash - it’s safe to throw it away or recycle it.
Scheduling Services for Medical Waste
When it comes to scheduling, there are some ways in which medical waste is a lot like other waste: if you have lots of it, schedule more frequent pick-ups.
But unlike regular trash, medical waste can pose health hazards if too much time goes by between pickups. (Don’t believe your mom - regular trash get smelly if it’s not taken out, but it’s not likely to kill anyone!)
Some kinds of red bag waste can damage human tissue - or it might be radioactive. Suffice to say, you don’t want to just leave this type of material lying around for too long.
If anything, it’s best to err on the side of too many pick-ups. This isn’t the kind of waste you want to handle haphazardly.
Make Sure Your Medical Waste Disposal Is Safe
We help companies safely handle their red bag waste - but we also make sure they pay fair prices. None of the processes we’ve described above are wildly expensive. Yet medical waste bills can be exorbitant.
Why not schedule a free consult? It’s the perfect way to find savings - and ensure the safety of all those who visit, work, or live at your locations.
Evaluate Your Current Medical Waste Management Process
Medical waste disposal is a highly regulated process and it ensures the safety of those on your site, as well as those who handle the waste.
To make sure your medical waste management process is airtight, do these three things:
Make sure your team is properly trained (or retrained) in waste disposal techniques!
Schedule frequent pick-ups.
Make sure that all waste materials make it into the designated containers.
You can rest easy knowing that you’re doing everything you can to ensure that dangerous materials are disposed of safely and effectively.
What questions do you have about the medical waste disposal process? Sound off below!
Medical Waste Disposal 101: What is it?
To ensure safe disposal of your medical waste, it’s critical to learn what it is.
Medical waste or red bag waste is a critical part of your overall waste management process. It often involves hazardous materials that must be disposed of with care.
In an effort to protect theirs residents, visitors and/or staff, at least 50% of companies nationwide are overpaying on their medical waste disposal. You don’t have to be one of them.
You can have high-quality medical waste disposal service at a reasonable rate - do you? How would you know if you were overpaying?
In this article, we’ll go over the basics of medical waste disposal:
What it is
How it’s disposed of
Your expensive, hidden problems
How you can save on these services
You’ll also learn about just a few of the potential savings opportunities you may be sitting on - and how to take advantage of them. As we’ll see, medical waste safety and savings can go hand in hand.
What is medical waste?
Medical waste is anything that could contaminate blood borne pathogens. (See a full list here.) But this doesn’t necessarily mean anything that’s been in contact with blood! To be considered medical waste, materials have to “contain enough blood or potentially infectious materials” to be hazardous to those who may come into contact with it.
Band-aids, for example, aren’t usually considered medical waste. Gauze covering a gash on an arm? That’s a different story!
Medical waste exclusively comprise items and materials that contain or are saturated with blood or other infectious materials. Medical waste isn’t only sharps or needles!
When waste items fit this description, it becomes what’s known as regulated medical waste. Regulated medical waste simply means that certain rules apply to the disposal process to ensure that no person is exposed to potentially hazardous materials.
It’s important to note that different states may have slightly different ways of referring to medical or red bag waste:
New York and Rhode Island refer to it as “regulated medical waste”
Colorado, Nebraska, and Nevada all typically refer to it as “infectious waste”
Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maine and Washington State refer to it as “biomedical waste”
Keep in mind that addition medical waste can also be referred to as hazardous waste.
There’s no other way to say it; medical waste is gross - but that’s exactly why it’s critical to ensure that medical waste is disposed of safely and efficiently. We can’t overstate the importance of having secure waste disposal methods!
Who produces medical waste?
A wide range of industries produce regulated medical waste. The EPA notes that such industries may include:
Health care facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, physician's offices, dental practices, blood banks, and veterinary hospitals/clinics, as well as medical research facilities and laboratories.
Hospitals alone produce more than 5 million tons of waste each year, or about 30 pounds of waste per bed each day.
In our experience, many assisted living and retirement facilities often produce medical waste as well. But tattoo parlors and labs can also produce waste that falls in this category.
How is medical waste regulated?
Surprisingly, the federal government does not supply regulations for proper red bag waste disposal - the states do.
Individual states often require that you register as a medical waste generator. These are:
Alabama
California
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Maine
Michigan
New Jersey
New York - NYC
Ohio
Pennsylvania - Philadelphia
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Washington
West Virginia
Find your specific state regulations here!
Why is proper medical waste disposal important?
Proper disposal of any medical waste containers is absolutely critical. 5.2 million people worldwide die from conditions related to poor medical waste disposal - and this could be completely eradicated with proper procedures in place!
Do your part to ensure that medical waste is safely and effectively disposed of. You are protecting the lives of everyone who enters your facilities. Learn more about how to protect your staff and your visitors with a thorough medical waste audit.
What concerns do you have about red bag waste? Let us know in the comments below!
Medical Waste Invoices: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Investing time in monitoring your invoices can yield savings - a lot of savings.
In this section, you’ll learn how to see the hidden problems on your medical waste invoices. This can be daunting, but you can use this information to your advantage: these problems actually point to savings opportunities!
Medical Waste Invoice Line Items
Your medical waste invoices should be itemized so you can see exactly what you’re paying for. Invoices that list one lump sum obscure your rates.
Take a look at the invoice below - it has the fuel, energy, and disposal fees listed. It also includes a late fee.
Take a look at the invoice below - it has the fuel, energy, and disposal fees listed. It also includes a late fee.
One of the first things we review for our new clients is their medical waste invoice history. Itemized invoices make it easy to see when your rates increase and which fees increase. Maybe your fuel fees stay static, but the energy charge goes through the roof. Or maybe your late fees suddenly start increasing.
If you don’t have an itemized invoice, you won’t know what fees have changed and which remain the same. This becomes critical for our clients because the medical disposal service contracts we negotiate always contain language that eliminates or caps these fees at a certain rate. If we can’t see the fees, we don’t know if the hauler is charging according to the specifications in the contract.
We make sure that our clients’ invoices are transparent and that their contracts protect their interests - and their bottom line! Are you a good candidate for a waste audit - and invoice monitoring?
How Invoices Help Us Hold Waste Vendors Accountable
Invoices can give us a baseline for price expectations and point to contract gaps.
Base service rates: Your invoices will show your rate for your services - but it won’t show how much those rates have increased in the past six months. To find that, we look at your contract and your invoices history. The rate specified in your contract shows what you should pay each month for your services. But what’s not in your contract actually tells us more than what is. If you don’t have language prohibiting price spikes, we know you’re almost always going to get them. If you don’t have terms capping rate increases over the term of your contract, your base rates are going to rise. We quickly remedy these gaps in coverage for our clients when they sign up for a waste audit!
Most vendors will increase rates at least once a year, which means that over the term of your contract your rates can increases more than 100%! Is your contract protecting you from these?
Billing discrepancies: We review every one of our clients waste invoices for every location in their portfolio. So if the disposal fee jumps a few hundred dollars, we’ll see it and get the necessary billing credits on your behalf. We find invoice errors occur 10% of the time - are you and your staff catching them?
When you sign up for a free medical audit, you’re putting our industry expertise to work for you. We find where you’re being overcharged, and we find the solutions that are right for you, your locations, and your industry.
Medical waste invoices can show where you’re overspending
Invoices can give us a baseline for price expectations and point to contract gaps.
Benchline red bag disposal pricing: These fees give us an idea of what you should pay each month for each of these categories. If the disposal fee jumps a few hundred dollars, you’ll know that’s abnormal - if we’re paying attention to the monthly invoices.
And if you’re familiar with your invoices, you’ll know when errors happen. (We estimate that invoice errors occur 10% of the time - and can sometimes be incredibly costly.)
Waste contract gaps: If you notice that you’re consistently getting price hikes, or that your fuel charges suspiciously increase every few months, you need to take a good look at your contract.
Another way to prevent price hikes? Make sure your contract is airtight; make sure it does not allow disposal companies to increase their hikes over a certain percentage.
This is part of the reason offer monthly invoice monitoring. Medical disposal companies are notorious for randomly jacking up their disposal fees - just like waste disposal companies!
Do these vendors charge for their services? Absolutely. They provide a vital service, and there are a lot of valid services that are legitimately billable. But that doesn’t mean you should be overcharged.
Safety and savings are not mutually exclusive when it comes to medical waste disposal.
What do your invoices show you?
Take some time to go over the last six months of your invoices and ask these questions:
Are my disposal fees steady? Or is there a rate increase?
Are there charges I can’t explain?
Do my prices reflect market costs?
Familiarizing yourself with your invoices can tremendously impact your bottom line.
Short on time? You’re probably a great candidate for a professional medical waste audit.
Our professional, exhaustive audits will find every savings opportunity available to you - and they’re guaranteed cash-flow positive!
What questions do you have about medical waste disposal management? Sound off in the comments below!
Medical Waste Disposal 101: How It's Done
Learn exactly what happens to your medical waste - and the pros and cons of different processes!
Maybe you’re not sure what exactly happens to your medical waste. Or maybe you just want to make sure that you’re handling yours in the safest way possible.
Put those concerns to rest! In this article, I’ll guide you through the ins and outs of the red bag waste disposal process.
Not sure what medical waste is?
Let’s look at how medical disposal is sanitized and disposed of and how often it’s typically picked up.
At the end of this article, you’ll know exactly what happens to your medical waste - and the pros and cons of different processes!
The Medical Waste Disposal Process
Medical waste must be picked up from your site by a licensed biohazard waste hauler. They take it to a special facility where they first sanitize the waste so that it can then be disposed of. This sanitization process happens through either autoclave or through incineration.
Incineration is exactly what it sounds like - it burns the waste products. Unfortunately this process produces gases that some companies have released directly back into the environment, which is less than ideal. It also creates ashes, which often can’t just be thrown out with regular waste. More medical waste tends to be neutralized through autoclave, but particularly dangerous materials tend to be incinerated.
Autoclave is more expensive, but it’s more efficient - and, some would argue, safer. All the medical waste goes in a drum that is then pressurized and heated. This process kills germs and micro-organism, and the waste becomes like any other trash - it’s safe to throw it away or recycle it.
Scheduling Services for Medical Waste
When it comes to scheduling, there are some ways in which medical waste is a lot like other waste: if you have lots of it, schedule more frequent pick-ups.
But unlike regular trash, medical waste can pose health hazards if too much time goes by between pickups. (Don’t believe your mom - regular trash get smelly if it’s not taken out, but it’s not likely to kill anyone!)
Some kinds of red bag waste can damage human tissue - or it might be radioactive. Suffice to say, you don’t want to just leave this type of material lying around for too long.
If anything, it’s best to err on the side of too many pick-ups. This isn’t the kind of waste you want to handle haphazardly.
Make Sure Your Medical Waste Disposal Is Safe
We help companies safely handle their red bag waste - but we also make sure they pay fair prices. None of the processes we’ve described above are wildly expensive. Yet medical waste bills can be exorbitant.
Why not schedule a free consult? It’s the perfect way to find savings - and ensure the safety of all those who visit, work, or live at your locations.
Evaluate Your Current Medical Waste Management Process
Medical waste disposal is a highly regulated process and it ensures the safety of those on your site, as well as those who handle the waste.
To make sure your medical waste management process is airtight, do these three things:
Make sure your team is properly trained (or retrained) in waste disposal techniques!
Schedule frequent pick-ups.
Make sure that all waste materials make it into the designated containers.
You can rest easy knowing that you’re doing everything you can to ensure that dangerous materials are disposed of safely and effectively.
What questions do you have about the medical waste disposal process? Sound off below!
Medical Waste Disposal 101: Can an Audit Help?
If you’re like most people, you’re long on problems and short on time.
So we’ve tailored our medical waste audits for people exactly like you.
You’re the perfect candidate for a medical waste audit if you:
Generate medical waste
Have not evaluated your invoices in the past 6 months
Have experienced any price increases in the past 12 months
Cannot explain any of the fees on your medical waste invoices
An audit will certainly benefit you if any of the above is true.
Do you generate medical waste?
If you’re generating waste, there’s a 90% chance you’re overspending.
Why? Because regulated medical waste often comes with “special” pricing. Medical waste services are notorious for their exorbitant fees and frequent price hikes.
I wish there were some good reason for this - a lot of people assume there is! They think that red bag disposal is expensive because the process requires people to handle dangerous materials. Or they think that paying higher prices means better quality of service. (It can - but it doesn’t always!)
Medical waste service providers will often hike prices because your contract allows them to do so.
Because of this, audits - and constant monitoring - are imperative. You need an independent third party to review every aspect of your medical waste management process. Your current vendor isn’t going to disclose your current savings opportunities. They’re not going to tell you that another vendor in your area charges 95% less (as we recently discovered for one of our clients)! They’re not going to show you what terms in your contract are costing you thousands every year.
We will.
Sign up for a free consultation today, and find out how our medical audit can help you save thousands.
Most companies are sitting on savings opportunities - and they have no idea.
After we find your current disposal problems, we typically recommend the following to save on medical waste invoices:
Renegotiating rates
Capping price increases
Requesting credits
Removal or reduction of ancillary fees
We complete all of these services on your behalf - you don’t have to put in any extra effort. After our audit is complete, we show you what you’ll save once our recommendations are in place.
These savings are often significant. We recently conducted an audit for an assisted living management company with 20 locations. At just one location, we were able to reduce their medical waste expenses from $875 per month down to only $45 per month! They’re saving 95% each month - $830! That’s almost an extra $10,000 every year. How much could you be sitting on?
Are you monitoring your medical waste invoices?
If you haven’t thoroughly reviewed your invoices in the past six - don’t worry! You’re in good company. Most companies don’t have the time or the resources to thoroughly review paperwork that seems non-urgent.
If you’re not looking carefully at your invoices, you may not notice price hikes or billing discrepancies. An unfortunately, these are pretty regular occurrences. In the 17 years we’ve been in business, we see errors about 10% of the time. This can add up to hundreds of dollars in missed savings or credit opportunities for just a single location.
If you can’t connect your invoice fees to actual services, there’s a good chance you’re being overcharged.
Have you experienced any price increases recently?
If you have had a significant price increase in the past 12 months, it means that your contract most likely has less than ideal terms. It means that you’re paying your vendor more than you should.
Your contract needs to have rate increases capped at a certain amount or eliminated altogether. This will be entirely dependent on whether your vendor is willing to provide these terms. If you are nearing the end of your contract term, they may be willing to include these modifications in your new contract. But few service providers are willing to make significant adjustments to terms in the middle of a contract. Some may - but not many.
Do you have unexplained fees?
A fair cost of service should always be included on an invoice. However, most invoices will include additional fees on top of regular service costs. Many companies will simply tack these fees on because they can - your contract does not limit them. They’re not transparent because they’re not always legitimate fees.
These fees may have difficult to understand names like, “cost recovery” fee, or “regulatory” fee. These names sound official, but they’re not always associated with the cost of providing service. In fact sometimes, they occur on your invoices simply to increase revenue.
If you can’t connect your invoice fees to actual services, there’s a good chance you’re being overcharged.
These fees are not required to be on your invoice. Many service providers are willing to forgo them completely if a favorable and fair contract can be installed! You don’t have to pay them if your contract specifically prohibits them from occurring on your invoices.
Do you want to find savings?
If you want to know for sure that you’re not sitting on savings opportunities, you need an independent auditor to evaluate your waste streams. It’s so easy to unintentionally overpay on your waste expenses and expert analysis will find where you’re overspending.
If you want to find savings, look for an auditor who will provide a free initial audit. This means you can take on zero initial risk in order to ensure your medical waste disposal services are efficient. This consultant model is guaranteed to be cash-flow positive since you will only pay the auditor out of the savings they have found for you. It’s not an additional line item, making for easier budgeting.
Medical Waste Disposal 101: What is it?
To ensure safe disposal of your medical waste, it’s critical to learn what it is.
Medical waste or red bag waste is a critical part of your overall waste management process. It often involves hazardous materials that must be disposed of with care.
In an effort to protect theirs residents, visitors and/or staff, at least 50% of companies nationwide are overpaying on their medical waste disposal. You don’t have to be one of them.
You can have high-quality medical waste disposal service at a reasonable rate - do you? How would you know if you were overpaying?
In this article, we’ll go over the basics of medical waste disposal:
What it is
How it’s disposed of
Your expensive, hidden problems
How you can save on these services
You’ll also learn about just a few of the potential savings opportunities you may be sitting on - and how to take advantage of them. As we’ll see, medical waste safety and savings can go hand in hand.
What is medical waste?
Medical waste is anything that could contaminate blood borne pathogens. (See a full list here.) But this doesn’t necessarily mean anything that’s been in contact with blood! To be considered medical waste, materials have to “contain enough blood or potentially infectious materials” to be hazardous to those who may come into contact with it.
Band-aids, for example, aren’t usually considered medical waste. Gauze covering a gash on an arm? That’s a different story!
Medical waste exclusively comprise items and materials that contain or are saturated with blood or other infectious materials. Medical waste isn’t only sharps or needles!
When waste items fit this description, it becomes what’s known as regulated medical waste. Regulated medical waste simply means that certain rules apply to the disposal process to ensure that no person is exposed to potentially hazardous materials.
It’s important to note that different states may have slightly different ways of referring to medical or red bag waste:
New York and Rhode Island refer to it as “regulated medical waste”
Colorado, Nebraska, and Nevada all typically refer to it as “infectious waste”
Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maine and Washington State refer to it as “biomedical waste”
Keep in mind that addition medical waste can also be referred to as hazardous waste.
There’s no other way to say it; medical waste is gross - but that’s exactly why it’s critical to ensure that medical waste is disposed of safely and efficiently. We can’t overstate the importance of having secure waste disposal methods!
Who produces medical waste?
A wide range of industries produce regulated medical waste. The EPA notes that such industries may include:
Health care facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, physician's offices, dental practices, blood banks, and veterinary hospitals/clinics, as well as medical research facilities and laboratories.
Hospitals alone produce more than 5 million tons of waste each year, or about 30 pounds of waste per bed each day.
In our experience, many assisted living and retirement facilities often produce medical waste as well. But tattoo parlors and labs can also produce waste that falls in this category.
How is medical waste regulated?
Surprisingly, the federal government does not supply regulations for proper red bag waste disposal - the states do.
Individual states often require that you register as a medical waste generator. These are:
Alabama
California
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Maine
Michigan
New Jersey
New York - NYC
Ohio
Pennsylvania - Philadelphia
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Washington
West Virginia
Find your specific state regulations here!
Why is proper medical waste disposal important?
Proper disposal of any medical waste containers is absolutely critical. 5.2 million people worldwide die from conditions related to poor medical waste disposal - and this could be completely eradicated with proper procedures in place!
Do your part to ensure that medical waste is safely and effectively disposed of. You are protecting the lives of everyone who enters your facilities. Learn more about how to protect your staff and your visitors with a thorough medical waste audit.