Healthcare is one of the last bastions of consumer-unfriendly billing and pricing. As individuals start to take on more responsibility for premiums, deductibles and co-pays, they are increasingly demanding more transparency. And providers will be forced to respond.
Healthcare is one of the last bastions of consumer-unfriendly billing and pricing. As individuals start to take on more responsibility for premiums, deductibles and co-pays, they are increasingly demanding more transparency. And providers will be forced to respond.
With the growing complexity and unpredictability of reimbursement, the existing back-end model of managing patients' payments is no longer sufficient. Hospital executives must focus on a proactive approach to collecting payment upfront as well as improving patient education.
The healthcare system has been pretty much a business-to-business sector, but from October, two big things change. Millions of unpredictable individuals enter the market as consumers, and the underlying risk calculation shifts from one that is largely clear and underwritten, to one that depends on a precarious balance.