Study Finds Patients Seek Affordable Healthcare Financing
Healthcare is a big-ticket expense that requires long-term financing, according to 91% of patients/consumers responding to a recent healthcare consumerism study.
Earlier this year, Porter Research contacted more than 2,700 participants to find out about their awareness, satisfaction and loyalty to the consumer-friendly loan program from ClearBalance, a company that partners with healthcare systems to provide consumer-centric affordable care while improving net recovery of patient pay and overall financial performance.
“Healthcare often is a large, unexpected expense,” says Bruce Haupt, president and CEO of ClearBalance. “Some patients use their entire savings to pay their medical bills, or worse, declare bankruptcy. The ClearBalance program is a better option. Patients can afford to repay their portion of care and often are more loyal to the health system that offers our program.”
Key findings from the 2016 survey found:
- Study respondents are loyal and strong promoters of the ClearBalance program
- These positive attributes extend to the sponsoring healthcare provider
- The patient’s portion of healthcare costs continues to be a concern for many consumers
- Cost is a factor when selecting a physician (79% say yes) and a healthcare provider (81% say yes)
- Healthcare is an expense that requires financing of more than 12 months (91% say yes)
- One out of every three consumers will delay care if a loan program isn’t available
- Satisfaction with the ClearBalance Patient Experience Center and the patient payment portal remains high
- Nearly half of the respondents have called the Patient Experience Center; of those individuals, 95% were very satisfied with the Patient Experience Center representative and 94% were able to resolve their question and/or pay their bill
- Eighty-eight percent of respondents use the patient portal; of those, 97% say the portal is easy to use and helpful to manage their account
Now in its second year, the Healthcare Consumerism study has provided important insight about the user experience for ClearBalance’s valuable program, which enables patients to easily pay their medical costs and engenders loyalty, positioning the healthcare system as the care location of choice in its community.