Rising consumer payment responsibility, pressure for a better consumer experience and competition from retail leaders among the key trends impacting consumers, providers and payers
InstaMed (@InstaMed), healthcare’s most trusted payments network, announced the release of the Trends in Healthcare Payments Ninth Annual Report: 2018. The report, first shared with attendees at the InstaMed Healthcare Payments Summit 2019, explores critical market shifts influencing the healthcare payments industry.
This year’s report is designed to examine the most impactful healthcare payment trends from the unique perspectives of the key industry stakeholders: consumers, providers and payers.
Healthcare’s Blind Spot: The Consumer Experience
Payers and providers must rethink the payment experience for consumers as payment responsibility continues to increase for both health plan premiums and medical bills. This urgency is heightened as other industries set higher standards for consumer expectations. According to the report:
- 70% of consumers are confused by medical bills
- 56% of consumers would not be able to pay a $1,000+ medical bill
- 93% of consumers were surprised by a medical bill in 2018
Providers Need Payment Assurance
Providers are seeing the impact of the sharp rise in deductibles and patient responsibility. Yet, there has not been a major overhaul in how providers are tackling the challenges of collecting from patients. According to the report:
- 90% of providers leverage paper and manual processes for collections
- 69% of providers saw an increase in patient responsibility in 2018 compared to 2017
- 77% of providers say that it takes more than a month to collect any payment
Pressure on All Fronts for Payers
Payers face pressure from shifts in federal mandates and new competition from leaders in retail. Payers need to drive better member experiences, while looking for ways to optimize costs through the elimination of paper and manual processes. According to the report:
- 71% of consumers are confused by Explanation of Benefits (EOBs)
- 72% of consumers want eStatements for health plan premium bills, yet 42% of consumers cannot receive eStatements from their health plan
- 91% of providers still receive paper checks from one or more payers, yet 82% of providers prefer EFTs from payers
“This report was designed to spark conversations about the current state of the U.S. healthcare payments industry and promote awareness, change and greater efficiency for all stakeholders. This has been our objective from day one when the report was first published in 2011,” said Chris Seib, Chief Technology Officer of InstaMed. “It is clear that increased consumer responsibility is one of the most significant trends shaping the future of healthcare payments for consumers, providers and payers.”
Now in its ninth year, the report highlights quantitative data derived from over $396 billion in healthcare payments processed on the InstaMed platform and features qualitative, proprietary, independently gathered survey data from consumers, providers and payers nationwide. The Trends in Healthcare Payments Ninth Annual Report: 2018 is available for download.
