Becker's Hospital Review

62 62 REVENUE CYCLE MANAGEMENT 41% of Patients Use Payment Plans for Medical Expenses By Brooke Murphy A majority of patients have received a confusing medical bill, and many have received a bill they were unable to pay, according to Copatient's 2016 State of Medical Bill Confusion survey. For the survey, Copatient polled more than 200 U.S. consumers. Here are six survey findings. 1. About 72 percent of consumers said they have received a medical bill they didn't understand. 2. About 92 percent of respondents reported getting a medical bill they believed was too expensive. 3. Thirty-six percent said they received a medical bill they were unable to pay, and 41 percent reported using a payment plan to fulfill a financial obligation. 4. About 53 percent said they have tried to negotiate a medical bill, and 38 percent reported successfully lowering the amount owed. 5. Nearly 60 percent of respondents did not know the definition of balance billing. 6. Nearly 70 percent had not heard of the Affordable Care Act's so-called Cadillac Tax. n 66% of US Citizens Would Struggle With a Surprise $1k Bill By Brooke Murphy A s healthcare costs and insurance deductibles continue to creep upwards, Americans are finding unexpected medical bills more difficult to afford. That finding comes from a poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Researchers surveyed 1,008 U.S. adults between April 14 and April 18 on issues related to the U.S. economy and household finances. Below are four findings. 1. Of participants making less than $50,000 annually, 75 percent said they would have difficulty affording an unexpected bill amounting to $1,000. 2. Of respondents that make between $50,000 and $100,000 annually, 67 percent said they would have difficulty affording a $1,000 surprise bill. 3. Of households making more than $100,000 annually, 38 percent said they would at least have some difficulty coming up with $1,000. 4. When faced with an unexpected $1,000 bill, a majority of respondents said they wouldn't likely have the money on hand to pay the bills. A third of respondents said they would have to use a credit card or borrow money from a bank, friends or family to pay. Thirteen percent said they would forgo paying other bills to afford the surprise bill and 11 percent said they would likely not pay the bill at all. n provider participated in their plan, according to e Wall Street Journal. Physicians who thought they were underpaid would have the option to appeal. e California Medical Association has come out in opposition to Assemblyman Bonta's bill, and is working on a plan of its own with a different approach to the problem, according to a California Healthline report. Overall, the association wants a plan that puts more of the financial onus on insurers and provides physicians with a better deal, the report states. 27. Lawmakers in North Dakota and Montana are taking on air ambulance balance billing. e lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the federal Airline Deregulation Act aimed at protecting consumers from high balance bills aer receiving air ambulance services, reports Inforum. Passed in 1978, the Airline Deregulation Act was intended to encourage competition in air passenger services by allowing customers to choose based on ticket prices, routes and schedules. e amendment would allow states to create a call list hospitals and emergency responders would use to summon air ambulances. e list would designate which transport services accept insurance payments in full for air services and which companies bill patients for the outstanding balance. 28. e "End Surprise Billing Act". Federal lawmakers are making moves to outlaw balance billing nationally. Co-sponsored by 25 lawmakers, the End Surprise Billing Act would protect patients from balance billing who went to in-network facilities for emergency services, reports Consumerist. In non- emergency cases, the legislation would require providers to notify patients within 24 hours if an out-of-network specialist will be involved in an episode of care. 29. Consumers don't know how to navigate the legal waters. According to a Consumer Union report, 57 percent of patients who encountered balance billing from contracted physicians within the last two years paid in full because they didn't know their rights to fight the bills. An overwhelming majority (87 percent) did not know which agency or department in their state government is tasked with handling complaints about health insurance. "So many times, people just give up [in surprise billing disputes]," Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president of health initiatives with Community Service Society of New York, told NPR. 30. e New York Times dedicated a series to consumer encounters with surprise healthcare bills. Elisabeth Rosenthal's series in e New York Times entitled Paying Till it Hurts examined the personal and financial implications of excessive, unexpected medical costs on Americans, their families and their healthcare consumption. Ms. Rosenthal's installments oen feature individuals with unaffordable balance bills like Peter Drier, who was served a $117,000 balance bill for an out-of-network physician's assistant he never knew was present during surgery. n

• Cover