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HL Shorts: Navigating Rising Patient Costs and Growing Collection Hurdles

Analysis  |  By Luke Gale  
   July 09, 2025

The patient financial landscape is being reshaped by contradictory forces: rising patient out-of-pocket costs and growing restrictions on providers' ability to collect on those patient liabilities.

In this episode of HL Shorts, Ryan Klein, senior director of patient access and financial experience at UW Health, discusses the compounding challenges health systems face at a time when limits are placed on their ability to collect payments at a time when patient financial responsibility is growing.

Luke Gale is the revenue cycle editor for HealthLeaders.


KEY TAKEAWAYS

Health systems are increasingly moving patient financial conversations to the front-end of the revenue cycle

Knowledge gaps and difference in health coverage make patient education is critical, especially when providing pre-service estimates. 

Health systems are facing a dual challenge where patients have higher out-of-pocket costs than ever before while new legislation and public perception limit providers' ability to collect payments.


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