Patient demand for digital payment communication — both reminders about bills, as well as text messages that enable bill payment — is on the rise, according to a recent report. This is in line with growing consumerism trends in the U.S. — patients want their healthcare payment experience to mimic the convenience and ease they have when they pay for things like travel or retail goods.
Price transparency data has revealed there is a high degree of price variance for healthcare procedures depending on patients' insurance carriers and the location in which services are delivered. Jaewon Ryu, Geisinger’s president and CEO, said that the only way this variability can be addressed is by getting decision makers on the payment side much more aligned with the care delivery side of things.
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Providence issued a response to a letter sent by Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, in which she demanded the health system answer questions about its alleged efforts to aggressively bill patients who qualified for free or discounted care. The response denied that Providence aggressively pursued its poorest patients for medical debt, asserting that its “commitment to those in need has never been stronger.”
For both providers and patients, digital wallets offer greater convenience, ease of use, efficiency and security than traditional methods of medical bill payment.
Primary care has demonstrated remarkable resilience in spite of the intense pressures of the pandemic, and there is critical work to do to help our nation recover from the wide-ranging consequences of Covid-19.
In addition to Buy Now Pay Later payment plans, digital communication tools like QR codes and text messages have found new relevance in healthcare as they have become normalized through changes made to consumer payment experiences.
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
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. Hence, stakeholders across the industry should further digitize processes to promote future growth.
Acquiring Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based InstaMed helps to expand JPMorgan's corporate payments business into the lucrative healthcare space. U.S. healthcare spending clocks in at more than $3 trillion annually and is expected to grow to $6 trillion by 2027.