A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 67 percent of Americans worry about unexpected medical bills. This beats out worry over the cost of rent, food, gas, prescription drugs and insurance deductibles. And according to an NBC News health report, four in ten people have received an unexpectedly high bill for healthcare in the past year.
With healthcare listed as the greatest financial concern for Americans (see Gallup poll), the need for price transparency is a must – especially as consumers are increasingly expecting their healthcare experiences to mimic what they find in the retail space.
Alex Azar, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, recently said, “You ought to have the right to know what a healthcare service will cost—and what it will really cost—before you get that service.”
The Healthcare Financial Management Association has developed a 28-page guide to help consumers understand pricing in healthcare. It’s incredibly informative and helpful—but what are the odds that most people will read a 28-page guide?
Consumers want to know pricing and they want it to be simple, easy to understand, and preferably online. Think Amazon. It’s imperative for Marketing to take the lead in working with Operations for price transparency…and then take that information and create an easy-to-understand, easily-digestible, online pricing page or app.
This is something you should consider NOW. Schedule the meeting with Operations and make it happen for your organization – and your patients (and potential patients!) today.