Survey: Americans Agree Paying for Healthcare Needs to Improve

According to a release published Aug. 17 from Boston, Mass.-based Flywire, the majority of Americans want consumer-friendly ways to pay for healthcare.

The release states that “An increased reliance on the healthcare industry throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has shined a light on the complexities faced by consumers when it comes to paying for medical expenses. A recent survey of 2,000 adults in the United States commissioned by Flywire Corporation, a global payments enablement and software company, found that 65 percent of such individuals say billing for medical expenses is too complicated today. Furthermore, 37 percent said they missed a medical bill because the payment system was complicated. However, if healthcare expenses were accessible in one place, 72 percent say they would be less likely to miss a payment.”

Further, For its new report, “What Consumers Want: A Patient Financial Engagement Survey,” Flywire examined how patients in the United States are responding to a healthcare system that is undergoing rapid transformation—uncovering issues ranging from affordability and accessibility, to billing and payments.”

Key highlights from the report include:

• Eighty-four percent of consumers say there needs to be a more streamlined system for healthcare
• Fifty-six percent feel confused when it is time to enroll for health insurance
• Forty-one percent say they prefer to use live chat or chatbots to ask questions of their health system
• Thirty-eight percent say they would prefer to pay online via a portal vs. a paper check (28 percent)
• Seventy-seven percent say healthcare technology needs to be closer to other technologies they use in their personal lives
• Twenty-three percent of COVID-19 stimulus recipients used their check to pay for medical expenses
• Forty-six percent, nearly half, said they are not prepared to pay for unexpected medical expenses
• Seventy-seven percent say they would want to pay an unexpected medical expense in installments or on a payment plan
• Seventy-four percent say a consolidated view of their healthcare bills would be beneficial for budgeting
• Sixty-five percent will mostly use online access for their healthcare billing and payments going forward

John Talaga, executive vice president and general manager, Healthcare for Flywire is quoted in the release as saying that “The healthcare industry needs to have a holistic understanding of what patients need and value from their healthcare financial experience. The data uncovered within this survey shows the high consumer demand for easier, more consumer-friendly and transparent payment systems within the healthcare industry. It is our hope that hospitals can use this data to better cater their systems to fit the evolving needs of American consumers.”

The full report can be found here.