This year’s healthcare payment trends to watch

J.P. Morgan’s highly anticipated annual ‘Trends in Healthcare Payments’ report is especially relevant this year, in what is considered to be one of the worst financial years¹ on record for U.S. hospitals. In the current environment, financial leaders’ understanding of payment trends and the landscape is more crucial than ever, in order to consider technology and process improvements that may drive operational efficiencies.

This deep dive into 2023’s trends covers digitalization, billing, fraud, work environments, reconciliation and contactless payments, among others. Here, we look to just a few of these trends that could impact the industry this year and beyond.

• Paperless billing

When billing teams are mailing two or three statements per patient before they collect any payment, print and mail costs can start to add up quickly… not to mention the environmental impact of this additional paper. Giving consumers the opportunity to switch to digital is not enough: 89% of consumers² have the option to enroll in eStatements from their providers. However, only 4% of those consumers³ have opted for the eStatement option, which indicates there is a challenge with eStatement adoption in the industry.

Switching to eStatements is a process improvement that also benefits customers:: 42% of consumers⁴ would switch providers based on their payments experience.

• Payment plans  

Jeff Lin of J.P. Morgan refers to the “healthcare financial literacy” of the consumer, citing the lack of understanding regarding billing – 71% of consumers⁵ are confused by the bills that they get. Payment plans that simplify billing and mitigate financial hardship work for consumers – while also giving providers assurance and visibility of payments – will increase this year, according to the report. A good case in point is Catholic Health, who trained their financial clearance teams to offer payments plans to patients pre-service. This change led to a 102% increase⁶ in installment payments made toward an outstanding balance and a 50% increase in the number of payment plans created.

• Contactless everything

Simplified digital experiences are no longer a nice-to-have— they’re a must-have. Today’s healthcare consumers want the same convenient, contactless payment experiences that other industries have already offered for years. Options like Apple Pay, Google Pay and contactless EMV (Europay, Mastercard and Visa) are growing in popularity, and healthcare organizations should be able to accept these options at the point-of-service, as well as online channels.

• Fraud prevention

Attempted payment fraud attacks are an issue for many industries, but the very nature of healthcare organizations and claim payments mean they can be a valuable target for fraudsters and bad actors. It is more important than ever for payers to prioritize a rigorous underwriting process, and ongoing monitoring for any bank accounts receiving funds.
 

The Trends in Healthcare Payments Thirteenth Annual Report highlights quantitative data derived from the InstaMed platform and features qualitative, proprietary, independently gathered survey data from consumers, providers and payers nationwide.

 

What will 2023 bring for healthcare? Read the full report here.