October 27, 2022 – According to a new study from Akasa, an RCM firm that uses artificial intelligence, fond that 35% of Americans would not seek care for themselves if they were unaware of pricing for necessary care or services.
“Hospitals and health systems in the U.S. have been hyper-focused on improving the patient experience in recent years — and for good reason,” said Amy Raymond, VP of revenue cycle operation of AKASA. “A positive experience is directly tied to an organization’s reputation and ratings. It increases utilization, improves loyalty and retention, and, as a result, boosts their bottom line. Yet improving the patient financial experience in healthcare is one area that continues to lag behind other industries. If the reactive nature of medical billing continues to be the status quo, patients can miss out on opportunities to prevent medical debt which creates unnecessary hardship.”
Here are four main takeaways:
- 20% said they would be deterred from seeking care for parents or guardians if they were unaware of healthcare pricing information.
- 18.3 percent of dependents said they would be deterred if they were unaware of healthcare pricing information.
- 64% of Americans said they didn’t know if their physicians or providers offer payment plans or financial assistance for medical bills.
- 80% of uninsured Americans surveyed said they didn’t know about financial resources like payment plans or financial assistance offered by their providers.