Most Americans say doctors don’t provide a patient friendly billing experience: 10 tips to change that

When was the last time you opened a medical bill and didn’t feel somewhat or very confused? Maybe the billing statement included a total dollar amount with no detailed breakdown of services rendered. Or maybe it included surprise charges you hadn’t anticipated. Your doctor’s name or medical practice might not even be mentioned anywhere on the bill. 

Unfortunately, for many people, confusing medical bills and a lackluster patient payment experience are the norm. Seventy-five percent of Americans say that hardly any of their healthcare providers has a consumer-friendly approach when it comes to billing. And almost everyone (95%) agrees there should be a better way to simplify and pay medical bills. 

Why are medical bills so confusing?

There are many reasons. First, with the rise of high deductible health plans, there’s a lot of uncertainty around the patient financial responsibility. Then there are confusing concepts to grasp such as in- and out-of-network charges, facility versus professional fees, and detailed medical codes and billing guidelines. 

To complicate matters, many medical practices don’t submit claims immediately after services are rendered which means patients don’t even receive their bills until weeks later. Then when questions arise, these practices, many of which face significant healthcare staffing shortages, don’t employ enough staff who are knowledgeable about healthcare billing nuances who can answer questions correctly and in a timely manner and provide a high-quality patient financial experience. 

10 tips to promote patient friendly billing

What can medical practices do to promote patient friendly billing? Here’s a roundup of simple strategies to improve the patient financial experience.

1. Send timely medical bills. Automate billing cycles immediately after each patient visit. 
   
   
2. Send medical bills in the format patients prefer. Not every patient wants a patient friendly billing statement sent in the mail. Some may prefer email or even a text message. Determine what patient payment experience patients want—and then give that to them. 
   
   
3. Offer online bill pay. Give patients the ability to pay bills securely online. However, don’t make it difficult for them to log on because that will deter timely payments. Streamline the patient payment experience as much as possible while also remaining HIPAA-compliant. 
   
   
4. Provide single portal access. Give patients the option to track and pay all bills, including their own bills and those of their dependents, from one place. Although Millennials, Generation Z, and Generation X want this the most, many Baby Boomers (76%) want it as well.  
   
   
5. Offer longer-term payment plans—especially for outpatient procedures, urgent care visits, and specialty visits. Give patients the ability to pay bills in installments of longer than 12 months. This is especially important for the nearly one quarter of U.S. adults who are underinsured, facing high out-of-pocket costs and deductibles. Sixty percent of people cannot afford to pay for an unexpected illness in one lump sum, up from 46% in 2021. 
   
   
6. Contact the patient before the procedure to explain what’s expected in terms of payment. Another option is to provide an online calculator to help patients determine cost ranges for care or procedures. Then contact them again after services are rendered to walk through the patient friendly billing statement and ensure a positive patient financial experience.
   
   
7. Use consumer-friendly CPT descriptors on medical bills. CPT consumer-friendly descriptors translate lengthy coding descriptions into language that consumers and caregivers can understand. The American Medical Association provides these descriptors in English and, more recently, in Spanish to improve patient access to price transparency and advance health equity. 
   
   
8. Consolidate medical bills. Include all professional and hospital charges for a single encounter on one patient friendly billing statement. And ensure those patient friendly billing statements clearly spell out the cost of the service, what the insurance paid, and what the patient owes.
   
   
9. Use digital health technologies to make the billing process more responsive and efficient. This includes empathic billing support via email, text, live chat, and phone so patients can ask questions and share information. Offering multiple channels of communication helps encourage patients to participate in their own healthcare, and it also promotes financial engagement and a positive patient payment experience. 
   
   
10. Find missing coverage. Help patients reduce their liability by tracking down insurance coverage that they may have forgotten. For example, perhaps a patient forgot they had Medicare Advantage coverage or a secondary plan.

Looking ahead to a better patient financial experience

Providing a patient friendly billing experience is quickly becoming a necessity in today’s competitive healthcare marketplace. If your medical practice hasn’t already taken the leap to pursue some of the strategies listed above, there’s no time like the present to begin. Learn how Inbox Health can help.