2019Healthcare
Consumer
Study
Optimizing
financial
EXECUTIVE SUM
M A R Ythe patient
OCTO B EexperienceR 2 0 1 91

Contents
Cedar

03

Methodology

04

Context

05

Key Trends

06

Recommendations

13

2019 Healthcare Consumer Study 2

AboutCedar
Cedar is a patient payment and engagement
platform for hospitals, health systems andmedical groups that drives improved financial
results and patient satisfaction. Our solutions
leverage advanced data science to personalize,
simplify and modernize the way that patients
interact with the administrative and financialside of healthcare—from pre-visit to bill resolution.

2019 Healthcare Consumer Study 3

Methodology

1607

online respondents

The 2019 Healthcare Consumer Study was commissioned byCedar and conducted by Survata, an independent research firm,
to identify trends in the patient financial experience. Survata
interviewed 1607 online respondents between August 27, 2019
and September 01, 2019. The respondents represent an even
distribution of U.S. adults over the age of 18 who visited adoctor or hospital and paid a medical bill in the last 12 months(September 2018 - August 2019).

18+age of respondents

12mos.

paid a medical bill inthe last 12 months

2019 Healthcare Consumer Study 4

Context%
34
have had a healthcare bill go
to collections in the last year
Top reasons include:6043%%
26% inability to pay
full amountconfusion aboutbill amountoutdated billing &notification process

94%

of Americans are worried about theirrising healthcare cost responsibilities
over the next five years

1

https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2018.0349

The Healthcare Consumer Study found that one-third (34%) of U.S.
healthcare consumers have experienced a medical bill having gone
to collections, representing a slight increase year over year. Soaring
patient cost sharing and high-deductible insurance plans are partly
to blame, but it doesn’t take a huge medical bill to make a collections
agency come calling. Researchers found in a 2018 study of morethan 4 million U.S. credit reports that over half of annual medicalcollections were for less than $600.1
Patients want to do the right thing, but providers still have somework to do to improve the patient financial experience. The Healthcare
Consumer Study revealed that 60% of consumers tried to seekout-of-pocket cost estimates prior to their visit, and of those that did,barely half were able to get the information they requested. Consumers(56%) also indicated that they would take advantage of flexible payment
plans if their provider offered them, and 50% expect more clarity on
their bills. Healthcare’s lag in digital technology compared to otherindustries like banking and retail adds to consumer frustration, withnearly three-fourths of respondents still receiving paper bills in the mail.

This summary details the current trends in the patient financial
experience and the impact technology can have on helping
healthcare organizations alleviate increasing consumer
frustration and burden. Full survey results can be found here.
2019 Healthcare Consumer Study 5

KeyTrends

1Healthcare consumers
are frustrated; it’s time
to minimize confusion
and barriers to pay

49%

1 in 3

Americans don’t thinkthat healthcare providers
have done enough toimprove the patient billingand payment processof healthcare consumers expressed
frustration about their provider’s lackof adoption of digital administrative
processes (online bill pay, access toinsurance information, etc)

60%

of healthcare consumers haverequested expected out-of-pocket
costs from providers ahead of care

51%of those that requested it, were
not able to get the information
easily and accurately

2019 Healthcare Consumer Study 6

The majority of consumers arestill being notified about a healthcare
bill via outdated paper methods:

Traditional mail74%

Online patient portal

55%

Email34%

When asked to rate the worst
part of their experience witha provider, the majority took
issue with pre- or post-visit
administrative processes
beyond clinical care.
Worst phase of patient journey:45%

Post-visit (billing, insurance
follow-up, etc)38%

Pre-visit (scheduling, copays,check-in, cost estimates, etc)

Text

15%

17%

During visit (interactions withproviders and staff)

2019 Healthcare Consumer Study 7

2Consumers want better costtransparency, flexible payment
options and more modernengagement methods
The majority of healthcare
consumers are calling forthree specific improvements
within healthcare billing:

56 56 50%%

out-of-pocket costestimates, helping
them understandtheir responsibilitypayment flexibility
via creative payment
plan options%

more bill clarity/easier to understandbill explanations

In addition, over one thirdof consumers expect thefollowing improvements:

41 38 33%

consolidated bills
across multiple
providers/episodesof care%improved customer
support for immediatebilling questions%

digital payment
options

2019 Healthcare Consumer Study 8

3

Healthcare is not immune:
Consumers are willing to switch
providers due to poor digital
experiences and negative reviews

52%of healthcare consumers
consult online review sites
when choosing a provider%
44of those consumers consider
reviews either a significant
influencing factor or themain influencing factor

1in5
consumers left aprovider because of apoor digital experience%41

said they’d consider
switching to a provider
who offered a better
digital experience

have given a negative review ofa healthcare provider becauseof a poor digital experience2019 Healthcare Consumer Study 9

4

Mind the generation gaps: Younger Americans
are the most frustrated with patient billing
processes and the most likely to switch
providers if they have a poor experience
More than double the number of adults
aged 18-24 indicated frustration with theirhealthcare provider’s lack of adoption ofdigital patient administrative processes
compared to those aged 65 and older
Adults 18-24

66%

Adults 65+

29%

4x

Adults aged 18-24 were fourtimes as likely to have switched
or stopped going to a healthcare
provider because of a poor
digital experience comparedto those aged 65 and older
2019 Healthcare Consumer Study 10Adults aged 18-44 were nearly twice as likely
as those over the age of 45 to provide a negative
review of a healthcare provider due to unexpected
costs or a frustrating bill process

28%
16%

Adults 18-44

Adults 45+

3xAdults aged 18-24 were three times as likely
to consider switching doctors if they don’t
provide more digital experiences comparedto those aged 65 and older

2019 Healthcare Consumer Study 11

How Healthcare
Stacks Up Against
Other Industries'
Digital Capabilities
Ranked out of five industries (Best to worst)

1st

Online Retail2

Online Banking

nd

3rd

Online Travel

4thHealthcare

5thInsurance

2019 Healthcare Consumer Study 12

Recommendations
When it comes to addressing medical bills
and understanding their financial responsibility,
Americans are trying to do the right thing.
Consumers expect simple and convenient
options that promote transparency for theirhealthcare payments, which translates toimproved financial outcomes for providers.

It’s time to rethink the end-to-end patientfinancial experience to match what
consumers are getting in other industries.
To meet consumer expectations andimprove the patient financial experience,
we recommend:

Congruent End-To-End
Administrative Experiences

Out-Of-Pocket
Cost Estimators

Consolidate Bills FromWithin The Same System

Address the patient journey holistically, rather
than in piecemeal fashion. Pre-visit activities
such as insurance capture and co-pay collection
are ultimately connected to the post-visit
payment experience.

Empower your patients to become
more informed about upfront costs with
online cost estimators versus standard
chargemasters or pricing menus.

Alleviate frustration for patients and drive
more revenue to your organization byenabling patients to view all bills associatedwith an episode of care in one place.

Digital Payment Options And
Real-Time Support

More FlexiblePayment Plans

Reduce friction and make it easier for patients
to view and pay their bills by offering online
billing applications and live chat support.

Make care more affordable byleveraging patient data to craft
personalized payment plans.

2019 Healthcare Consumer Study 13

Copyright © 2019 Cedar Cares, Inc.