Health Policy and Medical Billing - Connected Health Pulse

The Patient as Consumer and Payer – A Focus on Financial Stress and Wellbeing

Health Populi

MAY 30, 2022

Year 3 into the COVID-19 pandemic, health citizens are dealing with coronavirus variants in convergence with other challenges in daily life: price inflation, civil and social stress, anxiety and depression, global security concerns, and the safety of their families. Medical debt has become such a financial burden and stress in the U.S.

Medical Billing

Medical Billing Health Policy Mental health Patient Experience

Seeing Health/Care Everywhere at CES 2025: My Preview for #CES2025

Health Populi

DECEMBER 30, 2024

In another post for contextualizing #CES2025 for health, , Ill detail some of the barriers, obstacles, and concerns on health consumers minds related to the adoption and ongoing use of digital health technologies with Trust being an over-arching issue on peoples minds.

Digital Health

Digital Health Health Policy Mental health Medicare

In the U.S., Patients Consider Costs and Insurance Essential to Their Overall Health Experience

Health Populi

APRIL 1, 2019

For mainstream Americans, “the math doesn’t add up” for paying medical bills out of median household budgets, based on the calculations in the 2019 VisitPay Report. adults 18 and over assessing peoples’ financial behaviors in the context of health care. Given a $60K median U.S.

Medical Billing

Medical Billing Patient Experience Health Policy

Only in America: Medical Debt Hits High Income and Insured People, KHN and NPR Report

Health Populi

JUNE 20, 2022

By age group, people 30 t0 49 years of age were more likely to have fallen into medical debt: think Sandwich-generation adults with children and aging parents, seriously financially stretched and stressed. Here’s an additional detail showing the mainstream, Main Street nature of medical debt in the U.S.:

Medical Billing

Medical Billing Pharmaceuticals Health Policy

Value-Based Health Care Needs All Stakeholders at the Table – Especially the Patient

Health Populi

MARCH 11, 2021

The coolest thing in health policy in the 21st century!! ” Amitabh Chandra gave the opening context-setting talk about the effects of health care cost-sharing on patients-as-consumers. Kavita Patel to assert in the first panel of the day that, “2713 is my favorite number.”

Health Policy

Health Policy Medicare Pharmaceuticals Life Science

And the Oscar Goes To….Power to the Patients!

Health Populi

APRIL 28, 2021

I look around and I see families devastated by medical bills and escalating prescription costs. No one should lose their livelihood, their home, their life because they can’t afford or understand the prices of their medical treatment.

Medical Billing

Medical Billing Patient Experience Public Health Health Policy

A Portrait of the Health Consumer as Confused, Cost-Challenged, and Out of Control

Health Populi

JULY 28, 2019

Data illustrating that “paradox” is shown in the second chart: while 78% percent of patients told Maestro Health their health care experience is positive, 69% feel they lack control over their patient journey. Quality health care in America is too expensive, 79% of consumers said. health policy circles.

Telehealth

Telehealth Medical Billing Health Policy Digital Health

Changing Views of Retirement and Health Post-COVID: Transamerica’s Look At Workers’ Disrupted Futures

Health Populi

JUNE 29, 2022

For the self-employed, the pandemic has been more challenging for retirement savings, with 35% finding themselves unemployed at some point in the pandemic.

Mental health

Mental health Medical Billing Health Policy

1 in 2 U.S. Women (“The Bedrock of Society”) Self-Ration Care – the Latest Deloitte Findings

Health Populi

SEPTEMBER 15, 2024

For more on women and health policy in the 2024 election cycle, you can explore the Open Letter on the site of Women Healthcare Leaders for Progress , of which I am one of several hundred signing the Letter.

Health Policy

Health Policy Nursing Telehealth Medical Billing

Lockdown Economics for U.S. Health Consumers

Health Populi

MARCH 17, 2020

On the medical spending front, Bankrate’s survey noted that 1 in 3 Americans did not seek healthcare in the past year due to costs. Without assurance that these medical bills would be paid, there are people in the U.S.

Mental health

Mental health Medical Billing Public Health Connected Health

Will Consumers Cross the Cost-and-Trust Chasm Between Prescription Drugs and Hospitals?

Health Populi

OCTOBER 28, 2019

84% of Americans told the Foundation that they were concerned about how much health care costs will affect them in the future, with 42% of patients saying they couldn’t afford to pay over $500 for an unexpected medical bill. Hospital costs contribute to rising medical costs to 49% of health consumers.

Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceuticals Medical Billing Medicare Mental health

The Top Pain Point in the Healthcare Consumer Experience is Money

Health Populi

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

98% of Americans rank paying their medical bills is an important pain point in their patient journey, according to Embracing consumerism: Driving customer engagement in the healthcare financial journey , from Experian Health. Beyond the physical and emotional pain that people experience when they become a patient, in the U.S.

Patient Experience

Patient Experience Medical Billing Health Policy

A Health Consumer Bill of Rights: Assuring Affordability, Access, Autonomy, and Equity

Health Populi

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Let’s put “health” back into the U.S. health care system. FYI you might know of NABIP by its former acronym, NAHU, the National Association of Health Underwriters).

HIPAA

HIPAA Public Health Telehealth Mental health

A Vote for Telehealth is a Vote for American Patients’ and Doctors’ Well-Being

Health Populi

APRIL 12, 2024

Patients-as-consumers increasingly expect retail-enchanting service levels from health care – especially as patients pay medical bills increasingly out-of-pocket. Convenience isn’t just a nice-to-have: it has economic ROI.

Telehealth

Telehealth Mental health Public Health Medical Billing

The Federal Reserve Chairman Speaks Out on Health Care Costs: “Spending But Getting Nothing”

Health Populi

FEBRUARY 17, 2020

Some of that credit card debt no doubt has medical bills associated with it. Furthermore, JPMorgan Chase has analyzed over 1 million accounts and found people using their tax refunds to pay for past medical spending.

Medical Billing

Medical Billing Health Policy

While Costs Are A Top Concern Among Most U.S. Patients, So Are Challenges of Poverty, Food, and Housing

Health Populi

OCTOBER 28, 2019

Rising health care costs continue to concern most Americans, with one in two people believing they’re one sickness away from getting into financial trouble, according to the 2019 Survey of America’s Patients conducted for The Physicians Foundation. In addition to paying for “my” medical bills, most people in the U.S.

Medical Billing

Medical Billing Medicare Mental health Public Health

Wistful Thinking: The National Health Spending Forecast In a Land Without COVID-19

Health Populi

MARCH 26, 2020

We’re facing first-dollar health care costs in high-deductible health plans, some of us worried about paying for medical bills related to getting tested and treated for the coronavirus. Others of us who need to are having trouble accessing our health records.

Public Health

Public Health Medical Billing Medicare Health Information

Isn’t It Eyeconic? Vision Care in the Evolving Health Care Ecosystem

Health Populi

MARCH 21, 2019

Frictionless retail is also an important paradigm for health care, an industry rife with friction. A huge friction point we identified in our data-for-healthcare-good panel wrapping up the day is surprise medical billing due to patients’ unwitting use of out-of-network physicians and providers.

HIPAA

HIPAA Medical Billing Leadership Public Health

Will Technology Cure Americans’ Health Care System Ills? Considering Google and Ascension Health’s Data Deal

Health Populi

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

What’s underneath that macro “healthcare” index number of 67 is a precipitous decline in the past year for Americans’ trust in hospitals, compared with biotech, pharma, consumer healthcare, and even health insurance — all of which grew in trust between 2018 and 2019, but not so with the hospital segment of U.S.

BioTech

BioTech Medical Billing HIPAA Health Information

The Financial Toxicity of Health Care Costs: From Cancer to FICO Scores

Health Populi

MARCH 22, 2022

To determine whether unpaid medical billing data should be included in credit reports. We come full circle with this third recommendation from CFPB with the Equifax-Experian-TransUnion plan to reduce most medical debt from patients’ credit reports. Work with Federal partners to reduce coercive credit reporting, and.

Medical Billing

Medical Billing Pharmaceuticals Health Policy

Why health care costs are making consumers more afraid of medical bills than an actual illness

Henry Kotula

APRIL 24, 2018

” However, the poll, conducted by the University of Chicago and the West Health Institute, found Americans fear large medical bills more than they do serious illness. And 53 percent received a bill that was higher than they expected.

Medical Billing

Medical Billing Medical Technology Medicare Health Policy

In U.S. Health Care, It’s Still the Prices, Stupid – But Transparency and Consumer Behavior Aren’t Working As Planned

Health Populi

JANUARY 18, 2019

American patients well understand the impact of health care costs in the family budget, with health care costs ranking the top pocketbook issue in U.S. That workers highly value their health benefits is no surprise.

BioTech

BioTech Medicare Medical Billing Patient Experience

The Health Care Costs for Someone Retiring in 2024 in the U.S. Will Reach $165,000 – Fidelity’s 23rd Annual Update

Health Populi

AUGUST 12, 2024

retiring in 2024 will need to bank $165,000 to pay for health care costs in retirement — a sum that does not include long-term care, Fidelity Investments advises us in the 23rd annual look at this always-impactful (and sobering) forecast. The average person in the U.S.

Medicare

Medicare Mental health Medical Billing Health Policy

Why People Are Still Avoiding the Doctor (It’s Not the Virus)

Henry Kotula

JUNE 21, 2020

While the survey didn’t ask people why they were putting off care, there is ample evidence that medical bills can be a powerful deterrent. “We While most of those individuals expected to receive care within the next three months, about a third said they planned to wait longer or not seek it at all.

Medical Billing

Medical Billing Medicare Telemedicine Primary Care

Think Quintuple Aim This Week at #HIMSS25

Health Populi

MARCH 3, 2025

The growth of wearable technology, need and desire for real-world evidence and patient feedback, and especially patients’ growing role in paying for health care (think: high deductibles, co-insurance, and the challenge of medical debt) all drive the need to enhance the health care experience for patients in consumer and retail grades.

Digital Health

Digital Health Medical Billing Primary Care Interoperability

American healthcare: The good, bad, ugly, future

Henry Kotula

AUGUST 28, 2023

As prices climb ever-higher, at least half of Americans can’t afford to pay their out-of-pocket medical bills, which remain the leading cause of U.S. As a result, Americans die younger and experience more complications from chronic diseases than people in peer nations. bankruptcy.

Mental health

Mental health Medicare Medical Billing Telemedicine

Despite Greater Digital Health Engagement, Americans Have Worse Health and Financial Outcomes Than Other Nations’ Health Citizens

Health Populi

DECEMBER 2, 2019

Health Populi’s Hot Points: A plurality of other nations’ health citizens would be keen to access these tools — especially, to evaluating quality and satisfaction rankings. health care is Americans’ growing financial exposure to first-dollar costs as patients continue to morph into medical bill payors.

Digital Health

Digital Health Medical Billing Health Information Health Data

A Tale of Two Americas as Told by the 2019 OECD Report on Health

Health Populi

NOVEMBER 7, 2019

Americans used to believe they enjoyed the “best health care system in the world,” but this has eroded due to challenges of access, high costs that can be an access barrier for patients, and medical bills that have recently motivated a market among patients to launch GoFundMe campaigns to help fund families’ health care costs.

Primary Care

Primary Care Mental health Medical Billing Health Data

Great Expectations for Health Care: Patients Look for Consumer Experience and Trust in Salesforce’s Latest Research

Health Populi

NOVEMBER 5, 2019

health care economics, patients are now payors as health consumers with more financial skin in paying medical bills. As consumers, people have great expectations from the organizations on the supply side of health care — providers (hospitals and doctors), health insurance plans, pharma and medical device companies.

Mental health

Mental health Medical Billing Medical Technology Pharmaceuticals

When Household Economics Blur with Health, Technology and Trust – Health Populi’s 2023 TrendCast

Health Populi

DECEMBER 22, 2022

In 2023, patients-as-health citizens remain concerned about the privacy and security of their personal information across many fronts: in women’s health data in the post-Roe v Wade era, for medical bill redlining , or for advertisers who fall well out of “healthcare” contexts and HIPAA oversight.

Health Technology

Health Technology Mental health Digital Health Primary Care

Women’s Health Outcomes in the U.S.: Spending More, Getting (Way) Less – 4 Charts from The Commonwealth Fund

Health Populi

AUGUST 18, 2024

have lower life expectancy, greater risks of heart disease, and more likely to face medical bills and self-rationing due to costs, we learn in the latest look into Health Care for Women: How the U.S. having the lowest life expectancy of 80 years versus women in other high-income countries; Health status, with women in the U.S.

Medical Billing

Medical Billing Health Policy Primary Care Public Health

Hospitals’ off-site fees draw lawmakers’ scrutiny

Henry Kotula

APRIL 14, 2023

[link] More than two years after Congress acted to shield patients from surprise medical bills , lawmakers are turning to another source of unexpected medical costs: the fees that hospitals tack on for services provided in clinics they own.

Health Policy

Health Policy Nursing Medical Billing Medicare

The Rough Guide to Health/Care Consumers in 2025: The 2025 Health Populi TrendCast

Health Populi

DECEMBER 20, 2024

They write, Patients are more engaged in their health than ever beforewith a growing awareness of the impact of lifestyle choices on overall well-being, individuals are taking proactive steps to manage their health. Wishing everyone well on your individual and collective journeys in 2025.

Mental health

Mental health Digital Health Medicare Health Policy

Workers Feel “Stuck,” Under-Insured, Financially Stressed, and Neglecting Mental Health

Health Populi

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

“It’s the economy stupid,” Jennifer Tescher, CEO of the Financial Health Network, titles her latest column in Forbes. Published two weeks after the 2024 U.S.

Mental health

Mental health Leadership Medical Billing Patient Experience

In 2020, PwC Expects Consumers to Grow DIY Healthcare Muscles As Medical Prices Increase

Health Populi

DECEMBER 11, 2019

Partnering, too, will be important on the road to digitization in health care across the three industry segments. specialty medicines), and people expect greater levels of retail-enhanced service from health care providers, plans, and pharma companies.

Life Science

Life Science Medical Billing Health Data Primary Care

Hospitals Suffer Decline in Consumer Satisfaction

Health Populi

NOVEMBER 27, 2019

The intention of this mandate is to enable patients-as-consumers to more readily shop for health care services that are “shoppable.” ” Health Populi’s Hot Points: The last chart organizes ACSI’s customer satisfaction benchmarks by industry in 2019.

Primary Care

Primary Care Medical Billing Patient Experience Health Policy

Benefit Cost Increases Overwhelm Flat Wages for Most in US: Pew

Health Populi

AUGUST 9, 2018

More women know a family member who has avoided care due to cost, and more faced paying a medical bill that was higher than expected. Needless to say, as the third row of data demonstrates, most of both women and men are worried they might not have affordable health plans in the future, Bankrate found.

Medical Billing

Medical Billing Patient Experience Health Policy

How to Restore Americans’ Confidence in U.S. Health Care: Deal With Access and Cost

Health Populi

MARCH 15, 2021

household budgets have been particularly hard-hit in paying off credit cards and bills (23%), paying for food (17%), falling behind paying rent or mortgage (16%), affording health insurance coverage (16%), and paying for medical bills (16%). adults had trouble affording any of these basic living expenses.

Mental health

Mental health Public Health Medical Billing Telehealth

Five Healthcare Industry Changes to Watch in 2020

Henry Kotula

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

“Healthcare providers must follow suit to meet value expectations and deliver more consumer-friendly services or may risk losing market share to innovative new healthcare arrangements, such as direct primary care, which offer convenient and quality care with simplified medical billing,” Dexter says.

Primary Care

Primary Care Telehealth HIPAA Patient Experience

This Is One Anxiety We Should Eliminate for the Coronavirus Outbreak

Henry Kotula

MARCH 17, 2020

A patient can do everything right and still face substantial surprise medical bills. In his recent Oval Office speech, President Trump pledged that Americans won’t receive surprise bills for their coronavirus testing. The goal is good; we need people who are lightly symptomatic to be tested without fear of high personal costs.

Public Health

Public Health Medical Billing Nursing Telemedicine

Come Together – A Health Policy Prescription from the Bipartisan Policy Center

Health Populi

FEBRUARY 6, 2020

The objectives would be to stabilize the insurance premiums in individual health insurance marketplaces, to provide relief and flexibility to employers, to reduce system-wide health care costs across payers (including ending surprise medical bills and eliminating barriers to prescription drug competition), to improve Medicare (eg.,

Health Policy

Health Policy Medicare Primary Care Medical Billing

Healthcare Costs Stress Out U.S. Voters One Week Ahead of 2018 Mid-Term Elections

Health Populi

OCTOBER 30, 2018

One-half of people age 18 to 64 have received a surprise medical bill they thought would be covered by insurance, and one-third say that the ability to pay for care they need is the most pressing issue in American healthcare. adults in August 2018.

Medical Billing

Medical Billing Public Health Health Policy

The Cost of Medical Care, Long-Term Care, and Prescription Drugs Top Older Americans’ Health-Related Concerns – With Social Security and Medicare Top of Mind

Health Populi

MAY 7, 2024

Among Americans 50 years of age and over, the top health-related concerns are Cost, Cost, and Cost — for medical services, for long-term and home care, and for prescription medications.

Medicare

Medicare Health Information Medical Billing Pharmaceuticals

Consumers Are Financially Stressed – What This Means for Health/Care in 2025

Health Populi

MARCH 6, 2025

Specific to consumers home health care economics, we learn from Gallup and West Health that Americans borrowed about $74 billion to pay medical bills in 2024. consumers who borrowed money to pay for health care in the past year. That’s about 30 million U.S. FICO scores). FICO scores).

Medical Billing

Medical Billing Medicare Pharmaceuticals Mental health

The Patient as Consumer and Payer – A Focus on Financial Stress and Wellbeing

Seeing Health/Care Everywhere at CES 2025: My Preview for #CES2025

Trending Sources

In the U.S., Patients Consider Costs and Insurance Essential to Their Overall Health Experience

Only in America: Medical Debt Hits High Income and Insured People, KHN and NPR Report

Value-Based Health Care Needs All Stakeholders at the Table – Especially the Patient

And the Oscar Goes To….Power to the Patients!

A Portrait of the Health Consumer as Confused, Cost-Challenged, and Out of Control

Changing Views of Retirement and Health Post-COVID: Transamerica’s Look At Workers’ Disrupted Futures

1 in 2 U.S. Women (“The Bedrock of Society”) Self-Ration Care – the Latest Deloitte Findings

Lockdown Economics for U.S. Health Consumers

Will Consumers Cross the Cost-and-Trust Chasm Between Prescription Drugs and Hospitals?

The Top Pain Point in the Healthcare Consumer Experience is Money

A Health Consumer Bill of Rights: Assuring Affordability, Access, Autonomy, and Equity

A Vote for Telehealth is a Vote for American Patients’ and Doctors’ Well-Being

The Federal Reserve Chairman Speaks Out on Health Care Costs: “Spending But Getting Nothing”

While Costs Are A Top Concern Among Most U.S. Patients, So Are Challenges of Poverty, Food, and Housing

Wistful Thinking: The National Health Spending Forecast In a Land Without COVID-19

Isn’t It Eyeconic? Vision Care in the Evolving Health Care Ecosystem

Will Technology Cure Americans’ Health Care System Ills? Considering Google and Ascension Health’s Data Deal

The Financial Toxicity of Health Care Costs: From Cancer to FICO Scores

Why health care costs are making consumers more afraid of medical bills than an actual illness

In U.S. Health Care, It’s Still the Prices, Stupid – But Transparency and Consumer Behavior Aren’t Working As Planned

The Health Care Costs for Someone Retiring in 2024 in the U.S. Will Reach $165,000 – Fidelity’s 23rd Annual Update

Why People Are Still Avoiding the Doctor (It’s Not the Virus)

Think Quintuple Aim This Week at #HIMSS25

American healthcare: The good, bad, ugly, future

Despite Greater Digital Health Engagement, Americans Have Worse Health and Financial Outcomes Than Other Nations’ Health Citizens

A Tale of Two Americas as Told by the 2019 OECD Report on Health

Great Expectations for Health Care: Patients Look for Consumer Experience and Trust in Salesforce’s Latest Research

When Household Economics Blur with Health, Technology and Trust – Health Populi’s 2023 TrendCast

Women’s Health Outcomes in the U.S.: Spending More, Getting (Way) Less – 4 Charts from The Commonwealth Fund

Hospitals’ off-site fees draw lawmakers’ scrutiny

The Rough Guide to Health/Care Consumers in 2025: The 2025 Health Populi TrendCast

Workers Feel “Stuck,” Under-Insured, Financially Stressed, and Neglecting Mental Health

In 2020, PwC Expects Consumers to Grow DIY Healthcare Muscles As Medical Prices Increase

Hospitals Suffer Decline in Consumer Satisfaction

Benefit Cost Increases Overwhelm Flat Wages for Most in US: Pew

How to Restore Americans’ Confidence in U.S. Health Care: Deal With Access and Cost

Five Healthcare Industry Changes to Watch in 2020

This Is One Anxiety We Should Eliminate for the Coronavirus Outbreak

Come Together – A Health Policy Prescription from the Bipartisan Policy Center

Healthcare Costs Stress Out U.S. Voters One Week Ahead of 2018 Mid-Term Elections

The Cost of Medical Care, Long-Term Care, and Prescription Drugs Top Older Americans’ Health-Related Concerns – With Social Security and Medicare Top of Mind

Consumers Are Financially Stressed – What This Means for Health/Care in 2025

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