21 statistics on high-deductible plans: Beckers Hospital Review

Summary: “Hospital and health system executives are well aware of the affects high-deductible health plans have had on hospital finances, from patient collections to bad debt,” Brooke Murphy wrote over at Becker’s Hospital Review, collecting statistics in May 2016. “To help quantify the impact of increasing patient financial obligations on the business of healthcare, here are 21 statistics to know about high-deductible health plans. 1. The Affordable Care Act has lowered the uninsured rate in the U.S., but it has not relieved the financial pressure hospitals experience from providing uncompensated care. The uninsured rate in the U.S. has fallen from 15.7 percent in 2009 to 9.1 percent in 2015, according to a report from the CDC. 2. Hospitals and health systems used to collect a majority of healthcare reimbursements from government or commercial payers. With the rise in popularity of high-deductible plans, hospitals are interfacing more than ever with patients to collect on accounts.  From 2011 to 2014, the number of consumer payments to healthcare providers increased 193 percent, according to a study from InstaMed.   3. Patients with high-deductible policies are grappling with significantly greater out-of-pocket costs. Kaiser Family Foundation reports the average annual out-of-pocket costs per patient rose almost 230 percent between 2006 and 2015. 4. The same Kaiser Family Foundation study found employee deductibles on average increased 67 percent from 2010 to 2015.” Brooke Murphy, 21 statistics on high-deductible health plans,” Becker’s Hospital Review.