Modern Healthcare reports on how hospital systems are screening patients in high-deductible insurance plans for their propensity to pay and developing new payment systems for those who can pay in advance of the care.
As the publication notes: “The ascendency of high-deductible health insurance is challenging hospitals and physicians across the country to change the way they prepare for and collect payments from people getting hit with large out-of-pocket costs for care. And it’s not only in government-sponsored or promoted insurance programs.
“A study released last year by the National Center for Health Statistics found that in 2014, 24 percent of people under age 65 with private health insurance were enrolled in high-deductible health plans and another 13 percent in high-deductible plans with health savings accounts to help pay expenses on a pre-tax basis. That compares with 16 percent and 7 percent respectively, in 2009.”
