A recent report from InstaMed — 2015 Trends in Healthcare Payments Annual Report — examines and addresses key healthcare payment trends impacting providers, payers and consumers. Data was compiled from online surveys representing more than 100,000 healthcare providers, more than 3,000 payers and more than 2,575 consumers.
Below are 11 study findings.
1. By 2024, CMS estimates that nearly $1 of every $5 will be spent on healthcare in the U.S.
2. Nine in 10 consumers want to know their payment responsibility upfront.
3. Almost two-thirds of consumers expressed interest in using mobile payment systems, like Apple Pay, for healthcare bills. More than 75 percent of consumers choose to pay their household bills through online payment channels.
4. Currently, 87 percent of consumers report getting healthcare bills in the mail.
5. Nearly 96 percent of payers said they still pay a portion of their providers via check.
6. In 2015, 77 percent of consumers reported that they were confused by an explanation of benefits they received from their health plan and 76 percent were confused by bills from their providers.
7. The healthcare payment market was estimated at $3.3 trillion in 2015, according to CMS.
8. Insurance deductibles have increased by 255 percent since 2006. The average health insurance premium for family coverage has increased by 83 percent since 2005, according to The Kaiser Family Foundation.
9. Creeping healthcare costs and the popularity of high-deductible health plans has created an uptick in patient responsibility. Around 74 percent of providers saw an increase in patient financial responsibility in 2015.
10. As consumers bear a larger burden of medical expenses under high-deductible plans, providers have experienced increased difficulty in collecting outstanding balances from patients. Providers expect to collect only 50 percent to 70 percent of a patient balance after a visit, according to McKinsey & Company.
11. Seventy percent of providers reported that it takes one month or longer on average to collect payment from a patient.
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