In a Milliman Medical Index (MMI) study last year, patients are continuing to seek out high-deductible health plans to offset the financial burden caused by a health concern.
A high-deductible health plan is any plan with a deductible of at least $1,300/year for individuals, $2,600/ year for families, where out of pocket expenses such as deductibles and copays equal no more than $6,500/year or $13,100/year, respectively.
FINANCIAL IMPACT ON PATIENTS
The study noted that the average total cost of care for a family of 4 now equals almost $26,000 annually. To make matters worse, employee expenses continue to rise faster than employer expenses.
What does this mean for your practice?
All of these rising costs have not only had a negative impact on patients but also on healthcare providers. Since practices are often collecting from patients and not traditional payers, their methods of collecting have to adapt.
Is your practice prepared to handle the loss of income while waiting to collect? Talk to Provider Web today and see how our financial tools can help.