Covid-19 offered a long overdue jolt to healthcare payments. The public health emergency exacerbated the industry’s problems with manual, paper-based and in-person practices. It also compelled providers to streamline their revenue cycle practices and offer more digital payment options, according to a recent report by InstaMed that includes quantitative data from $393 billion in healthcare payments processed on its platform, as well as survey data from consumers, providers and payers.
The pandemic accelerated many consumer-focused digital trends in healthcare, such as telehealth and contactless payment options. It’s not just younger, tech-savvy patients using these options. Millions of Medicare beneficiaries made contactless payments in 2020, according to the report, with stay-at-home orders influencing the digital shift.
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Matthew Rozen and Jeff Lin Matt Rozen is Executive Director of Healthcare Product Strategy for JPMorgan Chase. He joined JP Morgan in 2013 and has over 18 years of experience in banking and treasury services. Matt is responsible for leading, defining, and executing on strategic investments that support the Commercial Bank’s vision to deliver treasury […]
A few key findings about consumers from the report:
- 82% want to make all of their healthcare payments in one place
- 85% prefer an electronic payment method for medical bills and premiums
- 66% receive medical bills in the mail
Many health organizations continue to discount the link between the payments experience and overall patient satisfaction.
The demand for digital payments shows no signs of dwindling—78% of consumers surveyed reported that they want contactless payment options to remain in place. Healthcare organizations should take a data-driven approach, looking to consumer sentiment to improve the payments process and their own financial outlook.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Provider Trends: A Startling Disconnect and a Need for Streamlined Payments
Patients take ease of payment seriously—more than many providers realize. Forty-two percent of providers think collection efforts don’t impact the patient experience. Yet 56% of consumers would consider switching providers for a better healthcare payments experience. Patients have seen digital growth in other industries, so they notice when healthcare providers’ systems are lacking.
It’s also a cost issue for patients. Consumers pay a greater share of the cost of provider visits than in the past, and visit providers more frequently, which may further tie consumer loyalty to the payment experience.
Simplified online payments provide an opportunity to increase customer retention while increasing revenue and improving efficiency. On average, a manual transaction costs $5.42 more than the equivalent electronic transaction and requires an additional nine minutes of labor. Those savings can be essential for health organizations with limited resources and staff.
Payer Trends: A Quiet Year for Claims and a Powerful Position for Change
Many providers experienced a sharp decline in patient traffic at the start of the pandemic, which helped strengthen payers’ 2020 performance as they had fewer claims to pay out. Even the easing of pandemic restrictions did not significantly alter this pattern.
Nearly all payers prioritize consumer preference for making all of their healthcare payments in one place. Plus, 89% of payers surveyed are already using or have plans to use artificial intelligence and machine-learning offerings, and digital adoption continues to rise among both consumers and healthcare organizations. However payers must innovate provider reimbursement and member payment experiences to maintain the positive trend.
The Prescription Involves Paving the Way for The Future of Payments
After the pandemic transformed our daily lives, our work habits and our consumer practices, there’s simply no going back to the old way of doing things. The healthcare industry will not shift back to legacy payments, and digital payment solutions will help organizations rebuild and prepare for future waves of disruption. To keep up with these consumer demands, providers and payers should continue to provide innovative, contactless payment and care options.
Photo: Julia_Sudnitskaya, Getty Images
Matt Rozen is Executive Director of Healthcare Product Strategy for JPMorgan Chase. He joined JP Morgan in 2013 and has over 18 years of experience in banking and treasury services. Matt is responsible for leading, defining, and executing on strategic investments that support the Commercial Bank’s vision to deliver treasury solutions that support our healthcare clients’ needs. Matt has worked with the largest healthcare organizations in the country to build payment processing networks, optimize patient payment processes, and help drive key financial and operational performance metrics. He also works with our clients to collect and share best practices and challenges related to government and industry reform. He has spoken at HFMA, HMA and the annual JP Morgan Healthcare Advisory Council Conference and hosted the Healthcare Client Innovation Council event. He is a native of Phoenix, Arizona where he and his wife Shaina reside with their son Reece.
Jeff Lin is Chief Product Officer at InstaMed, a J.P. Morgan company, where he leads the ongoing product innovation of healthcare payment solutions for payers, providers, and consumers. This includes the discovery, evolution and execution of products that further simplify the healthcare payments process. Over the past 20 years, Jeff has developed domain expertise in healthcare and payments with a focus in the areas of product management, product strategy, product marketing and client solutioning. Jeff is host of the HealthcareNOW Radio program Payment Matters where he is joined by industry experts and thought leaders to discuss the latest trends, regulations, and innovations impacting the healthcare payments landscape. He speaks nationally regarding trends in healthcare payments, consumerism and innovation.
