Patients increasingly demand greater transparency and clarity in healthcare pricing, and new regulations reflect those expectations. However, any revenue cycle leader can tell tell you that the reality is far more complex.
The demand for accurate, upfront price estimates is growing. Many believe that getting a price for a medical procedure should be as simple as getting a quote for a car repair. However, this expectation often clashes with the complex and unpredictable nature of healthcare delivery.
In this episode of HL Shorts, Mike Lorenz, Revenue Cycle Director at INTEGRIS Health, discusses this exact challenge. He explains that while the public's expectation for more accurate estimates is growing, unforeseen clinical events can arise during a procedure that make a fixed, upfront price difficult—a key difference that separates healthcare from nearly every other industry.
Luke Gale is the revenue cycle editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Providers face a growing expectation for highly accurate price estimates, a challenge complicated by the complexity of healthcare.
Health systems are investing in front-end technology and data analytics to create more reliable estimates by automating eligibility and analyzing historical claims data.
Beyond technology, proactive patient education is essential to manage expectations and clearly explain that pre-service figures are estimates, not guarantees.