Dissatisfaction with healthcare billing is growing: Study

A new study by PwC’s Health Research Institute that could have ramifications for the way long-term care providers bill future residents, points to a growing dissatisfaction with healthcare billing and payment practices.

According to the report, the financial services industry has long been a leader in providing consumers with an Internet-based business model, while the fragmented healthcare industry has continued to rely on telephones and paper.

With systems interoperability a major stumbling block and the adoption of ICD-10 creating more confusion than clarity, the healthcare industry needs to reflect the growing need of consumers for convenient, seamless, affordable, quality, reliable and transparent billing and payment, the study notes.

“People have been frustrated for many years,” said Jamie Kresberg, director of product management at Citi Retail Services, in the report’s executive summary. “They want to view their bills, make a few clicks, pay their bills and be done.”

The PwC study included interviews with healthcare executives, a survey of 1,000 adults and the analysis of commercial claims from 34 million Americans in the Truven Health MarketScan 2012 commercial claims database.