Healthcare patients are still “clamoring” for more advances to improve billing and payment solutions, according to the results of an annual survey conducted by Cedar, a healthcare financial engagement platform. Forty percent of respondents said they are not satisfied with their provider’s billing solutions, and another 40% said they are dissatisfied with their interactions with their payer.
The overall common theme among the data is the need for “better communication around healthcare bills,” according to the report.
Consumers have a wish list of items they want as part of their financial experiences with healthcare providers, according to the survey. Those items are:
- 64% want to be able to customize their experience with their provider as to how they pay their bills or communicate
- 56% want a digital payment option or to pay through a patient portal
- 32% want the ability to complete online the prior authorization process with their payer
- 30% want an easier process to reconcile payment issues online with their payer
- 25% want an easier method to pay premiums online with their payer
About one-fifth of the survey’s respondents had debts that were placed with collection agencies during the course of 2021. Nearly half of those said it was because they were unable to pay the requested amount. One-third believed they were billed incorrectly, 28% said they couldn’t decipher the bill, and 24% said their non-payment was a result of poor or outdated billing practices offered by the provider.
“If the bill or process is difficult for people to understand, some will just check out,” said Doug Watson, senior vice president and CFO of UnityPoint Health. “A certain number of others will intend to pay it, but never actually get around to it. Whereas, if you make it easy with a click of a button, people are happy to pay as long as they had a good experience with their care. It’s about making the payment process easy so it doesn’t fall off the radar.”
The report, which includes details about consumers’ communication preferences, also provided a series of recommendations to help improve their financial experiences. Among the recommendations are:
- Seek cooperation and reduce friction
- Don’t compromise quality
- Learn and evolve
- Seek strategic digital partnerships
- Take the long view
- Empower consumers
