The past 10 years have revolutionized how we pay for things. We can exchange money via an app, buy groceries with a tap of a digital watch, and even find funding for and make large purchases online.
But the one industry that has not adapted: healthcare.
In fact, many of the same payment methods are the same as they were ten years ago: patients receive care, often without knowing the exact cost, get a bill in the mail several weeks later, and have the option of either paying by check, or logging on to a dated online portal.
With patients being used to consumer-friendly patient processes in every other part of their lives, to keep people happy, healthcare has some work to do to catch up. In order to get a better idea of what Americans are looking for in their healthcare payments, Flywire commissioned an independent survey of 2,000 people from every background, to better understand the opportunities and challenges when it comes to healthcare payments.
Here’s what we found.
The payment process is too complicated
The statistics we found were an overwhelming rebuke of healthcare payment systems in their current form. They showed that:
- 84% of people Believe the healthcare payment system needs to be streamlined;
- 77% think technology for healthcare needs to be closer to what they personally use in other areas;
- 74% Say a consolidated view of their healthcare bills would help them better manage expenses;
- 72% would be less likely to miss a payment if they could see their healthcare expenses in one place;
- 65% Believe billing for medical expenses is complicated today;
- 37% Have missed a medical bill because the payment system was complicated.
Americans want more affordability options
It’s no secret that healthcare in the United States is expensive, but adding to the burden is that providers often don’t offer ways to help manage costs and expect consumers do pay in full, even when the bill is a surprise.
Of people surveyed, 77% said that they wanted to pay for surprise medical bills in installments, and 55% said that hardly any of their healthcare providers offered a consumer-friendly approach to billing.
So what’s the solution?
We also asked participants what they do want to see from payment processing, and their answers showed that providers should start looking at modern business to consumer communications technology.
A total of 41% of people would prefer to use live chat or chatbots to ask questions of their health system, and 47% would prefer to not receive paper billing statements at all.
A particularly alarming statistic is that one-third of people don’t know who to contact about billing questions at all.
How do people want to pay & receive bills?
When it comes to the actual billing process, there is a telling difference between receiving and paying.
47% of people say that they prefer receiving bills in the mail, as opposed to 25% who prefer email, and 16% through a portal. For paying bills, 38% preferred the portal, 28% preferred the mail, and 17% preferred other online methods such as text or email.
The difference could point to consumers wanting to have their notices come in a concrete way and wanting flexibility to pay however they prefer.
COVID-19 accelerated payment systems
The pandemic radically shifted how people approached healthcare, and our survey showed that it made a lasting difference in paying bills. According to the survey, 42% of people accessed an online portal for the first time during the pandemic, and 31% of people paid a bill online for the first time.
A total of 65% of total people surveyed said that they planned to use online methods for healthcare payments going forward, a momentous shift away from classic payment systems and nod to what people want for the future of payments.
Want to learn more?
To view the entire survey on the impact of healthcare costs in America, read the interactive report on our website.