You can’t control healthcare affordability, but you can provide empathetic billing support. Here's how

How often do you read news stories or social media comments about consumer frustration with rising healthcare costs? The answer is most likely every day. 

However, consumer dissatisfaction with the healthcare industry in general has been mainstay for years. For the last two decades, health insurance costs have risen at a faster rate than inflation. In 2024, the average family premium grew 7% while wages only grew 4.5%. With these numbers, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that more than eight in 10 adults (86%) are worried about the cost of healthcare services. 

Medical debt and consumer credit reports

On the surface, recent changes removing medical debt from consumer credit reports may provide some relief from rising healthcare costs; however, the big unknown is what effect, if any, this will have on patient collection strategies. 

For example, if consumers are disincentivized to pay their medical bills (because the bills won’t affect their credit), might providers insist on up-front, point-of-service payments more consistently? If so, this would be a big change for consumers accustomed to getting the healthcare services they need—and then paying weeks or months later or perhaps not paying at all.

Consumer aggravation with rising healthcare costs is only amplified by longer in-office wait times, more insurance denials, narrower insurance panels, and an increased reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) tools lacking a human component. Together with lack of healthcare affordability, these elements create a perfect storm for mounting frustration.

Compassionate billing to ease patient financial challenges

However, with these pain points comes opportunities for providers to improve the overall patient financial experience. One of the most obvious? empathetic billing. By taking these simple steps, providers can greatly improve the patient financial journey and provide a patient-friendly billing experience:

1. Focus on transparent communication. Clearly communicate costs and billing processes up front. Empathetic billing includes communicating a potential shift to up-front collections with an explanation of why the medical practice is moving in this direction and what patients can expect.
   
   
2. Make it easy for patients to get the billing support they need. Provide compassionate billing support in a variety of ways (e.g., live chat, text, email, or phone) so patients can choose what works best for them and their busy schedules. Providing bilingual support can also help build trust and engagement. 
   
   
3. Respond quickly. Consider extending compassionate billing support into the evening to accommodate patients working standard business hours. Also monitor response times to patient inquiries and continually strive for improvement. The good news is that technology can help promote empathetic billing. While it may take up to 24 hours for billing staff to return a patient phone call, medical practices leveraging the right patient communication tools can often respond to live chat questions in under 30 seconds, text messages in less than a minute, and emails within four to six hours. The result? Patients feel important because they can see that the medical practice values their time. 
   
   
4. Balance technology with humans. While there’s certainly a place for automation in medical billing (e.g., automating frequent calls or automating billing cycles), patients want—and need—human interactions especially when it comes to managing and resolving billing issues in real time. They want to communicate with real people who understand the challenges associated with navigating a complicated healthcare system. Training staff on how to provide compassionate billing support can significantly improve the patient financial experience. 
   
   
5. Simplify billing statements. Clearly show the cost of service, what insurance paid, and what the patient owes. Then provide the billing statement in the patient’s preferred communication digital channel. Again, it’s about empathy in medical billing—that is, making patients feel valued and empowered. An added bonus? When patients prefer text and email statements, medical practices may even be able to track deliverability and patient activity (e.g., when patients open, view, and click on information), giving billing teams valuable insights when following up with patients for payment.

Looking to the future of patient billing support

Healthcare affordability will not be resolved in the short term. However, providers play an important role in easing the financial pressures on patients by making it as easy as possible to understand their financial obligations and provide them with options for payment. Providing compassionate billing support not only improves cashflow; it also enhances overall patient satisfaction and loyalty. Learn how Inbox Health can help your medical practice promote empathy in medical billing.

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