Now you can schedule membership plan changes in HintOS. This is useful if you're increasing your membership rates on a given date or if you offer an introductory rate that you want to expire.
Note: If you bill in arrears both plans must bill in arrears i.e. you can't move from an arrears plan to a plan that bills at the beginning of the period and vice versa. Please see additional notes and examples inline.
Scheduling a Date-Based Plan Change When scheduling date-based plan changes, ensure the selected date aligns with any contract period to simplify billing processes and pricing updates. By synchronizing these changes, you prevent misaligned timelines that might lead to administrative confusion.
A fixed date is set for the membership to change to the new plan, for example, if you need to increase your rates for everyone on January 1st.
Go to 'Admin' and select 'Membership Options'
Ensure the initial and subsequent plans are both created. Click here if you need help configuring a membership plan.
Click 'View/Edit' on the initial plan
Scroll down to the section 'Plan Change' and click '+ Add plan change'
To create a date-based plan change, choose 'Date' and input the date you want the plan to change for all enrollees
Select your subsequent plan from the 'New plan' drop-down
Scroll to the bottom and click 'Save Plan'
In the below example, all patients will switch to plan '2021 DPC Membership' on January 1, 2021
Note: If you bill in arrears, you will want to set the plan change to the date of the first bill on the new rates. For example, if you want your rates to apply for service dates starting September 1st, you'll want to set the plan change to occur on October 1st, as that is when September's invoice will be generated.
Scheduling a Duration-Based Plan Change For duration-based plan changes, ensure that the plan duration matches the contract periods defined in the membership to streamline billing cycles and updates. This ensures clarity and consistency when transitioning plans.
A duration-based plan change will take effect after a scheduled number of months from the patient's start date. For example, if you offer an introductory rate or the first month free.
Go to Admin>Membership Options
Ensure the initial and subsequent plans are both created. Click here if you need help configuring a membership plan.
Click 'View/Edit' on the initial plan
Scroll down to the section 'Plan Change' and click '+ Add plan change'
To create a duration-based plan change, choose 'Period of Months' and input the number of months you want to pass before a patient is switched to the next plan
Note: If you bill in arrears, you will want to add 1 to the desired duration. For example, if you want to bill the patient for 3 months on the original membership, set the plan change for 4 months. Again, this is only if you bill in arrears.
Select your subsequent plan from the 'New plan' drop-down
Scroll to the bottom and click 'Save Plan'
In the below example, an introductory plan will bill for 3 months, then the patient will automatically switch to plan 'DPC Membership'
Note: If you have a contract period associated with the initial plan, you will be locked into that number of months when creating a plan change. In the below example, a 12-month contract exists, so the only option is to create a plan change after the contract period (12 months).
Scheduling a Plan Change on an Individual Membership Aligning individual membership changes with pricing adjustments involves ensuring the contract end dates correspond with the desired pricing timeline. This approach helps synchronize updates effectively for individual memberships, providing predictability for both billing and contract renewal.
Plan changes can also be scheduled for an individual membership.
Navigate to the patient's chart
Click on the memberships tab
Click into an active membership that you want to make changes to, or create a new membership
Scroll down to the section titled 'Plan Changes' and click the blue link 'Add plan change'
Configure your duration or date-based plan change as outlined above
Click 'Save Plan'
Note: if there is a coupon on the membership it will remain on the membership after the plan changes.
If you are using special rates, you can create the special rate by the same name in your new plan to make changes to the special rates.
Adjusting Membership Contract End Dates
If a patient's pricing is set to change on a specific date but their membership plan renews on a different timeline, you can align the two by adjusting the contract end date. By doing so, billing and pricing updates will align with the membership's contract period.
Navigate to the patient's membership page.
Under the "Contract Periods" section, select the option to "Change Contract End Date."
Update the contract end date to match the desired timeline. For example, setting the date to February ensures the contract period aligns with the new pricing effective date.
Example
Changing a membership's end date from November to February would result in the first contract period updated to reflect the new end date (e.g., November 6, 2024 – February 6, 2026).
Upon renewal, the second contract period would extend from the new date (e.g., February 6, 2026 – February 6, 2027). This alignment ensures that changes to pricing or other updates take effect at the start of a new contract period, streamlining billing management.
FAQs
Why can't I see the option for plan changes?
Access to this feature requires a subscription to our Growth tier. You can inquire by contacting support@hint.com.
I scheduled my plan change for a particular date, but it looks like the members have already moved over to the new plan. Why is this?
This will occur if all the members' bill dates have passed for the month. If a member doesn't have another upcoming bill before the date of the scheduled plan change, they will move over to the new plan to accommodate invoicing ahead of time.
Will patients be charged the registration fee on the new plan they change to?
No - registration fees are only ever billed on the membership's first invoice.