Trends in Healthcare Payments: Tenth Annual Report
By InstaMed, a JP Morgan Company
For the past decade, the Trends in Healthcare Payments Annual Report has been published for the purpose of objectively educating the market and promoting awareness, change and greater efficiency. These trends highlight quantitative data derived from the InstaMed Network and feature qualitative, proprietary, independently gathered survey data from consumers, providers and payers nationwide. Trusted third-party sources are also used to analyze the market from the perspective of all stakeholders – consumers, providers and payers.
The report finds that consumers are regularly the hardest hit by healthcare payment trends. This group must manage consistently increasing payment responsibility with outdated payment methods and channels, coupled with often confusing information. Demographic factors, including age and gender, can exacerbate the negative experiences.
- 91% of consumers were surprised by a medical bill in 2019
- 83% of consumers prefer electronic payment methods for medical bills
- Millennials and Gen X are 28% more likely than Baby Boomers to consider switching a healthcare provider for a better payment experience
- Women are 22% more likely to be unable to pay off a balance of $1,000
Providers tend to struggle to keep up with increases in patient collections but are not universally adopting tools that eliminate the burdens of collections.
- 78% of providers cannot collect $1,000+ in 30 days
- 87% of providers leverage paper and manual processes for collections
- Only 23% of providers offer eStatements
Payers also frequently hold onto legacy channels and business processes that can produce poor experiences, yet many express a desire to prioritize the advances that would bring change.
- 86% prioritize consumer preference for making all of their healthcare payments in one place, but only 38% say direct-to-consumer solutions are a top priority
- 81% still deliver checks to providers
- 93% accept checks or cash for premium payments
- 71% leverage or plan to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning offerings
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