New surveys find growing confusion and concern over health care
Americans are looking at the state of their health care with an increasing degree of agitation and uncertainty, according to three new national surveys.
A survey of 2,026 adults conducted by Akasa, the developer of AI for health care operations, asked: “On a scale from 1-5 (1 being not confusing at all, 5 being extremely confusing), how confusing are medical bills to understand?” More than one-third of respondents were perplexed, with 19% stating medical bills were somewhat confusing and 19% said medical bills were extremely confusing. However, 25% said their medical bills were either not confusing or their opinion “leaned toward medical bills not being confusing,” while 37% reported they were neutral on the confusion of medical bills.
When asked what was the most frustrating about the financial experience after seeking medical care, the results were nearly evenly split: 29% said being able to understand what they”™re being billed for, 27% cited the uncertainty if they can pay the bill, 24% said not getting a bill until weeks after they received service and 20% claiming the uncertainty if the final bill will be consistent with the estimate of responsibility.
“The rise of high-deductible health plans, the uncertainty of what”™s being billed, the complexities of in- and out-of-network charges, and how much patients are on the hook for makes understanding and managing medical bills challenging for many families,” said Amy Raymond, Akasa”™s vice president of revenue cycle operations. “Additionally, as errors in medical bills persist, patients should be diligent in reviewing their bills to ensure they”™re getting an accurate bill. I strongly encourage individuals to ask questions of their providers or insurance company before paying a bill.”
A State of Repetition
Separately, a survey of 1,014 adults by Carta Healthcare found 83% of respondents reported they had to provide the same health information or duplicate forms with each appointment, with nearly three-quarters of those surveyed complaining they completed more than two duplicate documents, and 42% said they spent six minutes or more recounting past medical history at every appointment.
Not surprisingly, this repetition was not appreciated, with one in five respondents stating that having to repeat forms at a doctor”™s office makes them less likely to return.
“Physicians, nurses and medical office staff are highly professional, accomplished and dedicated individuals who genuinely care about their patients and provide excellent care. However, healthcare information systems often fall short of their current ability to integrate data among disparate systems, reduce data entry and provide a holistic view of a patient”™s medical condition and history,” said Matt Hollingsworth, co-founder and CEO of Carta Healthcare. “This data integration issue results in patients”™ frustration with filling out duplicate forms and recounting their medical history, as documented in the survey results, and has an overall negative impact on the patients”™ experiences, health care costs and patient outcomes.”
Shopping Around
In another survey, Oscar Health Inc.”™s poll of 1,000 adults found that while the vast majority (93%) were either “extremely, very or somewhat”™ concerned about the state of the economy, 44% of respondents cited the state of the economy as their top health care concern ”” which is 19% more than the next most significant health care concern, the Covid crisis.
This survey also found more than one in four respondents were considering a new brand of health insurance while nearly half of all uninsured respondents said they were likely to consider signing up for coverage. This response comes as millions of Americans are shopping on the federal exchange during this year”™s open enrollment period.
“The U.S. health care system continues to shift towards a more consumer-driven model to meet the demand for affordability and ease of use,” said Jackie Kahn, chief communications officer of Oscar Health.