20 Patient Financing Stats You Need to Know in 2019

If you haven’t heard, patient financing is the solution to all your biggest revenue cycle problems. Hospitals and practices that implement a medical lending program see benefits like reduced AR days, improved patient satisfaction, and higher margins.

Don’t believe us? Then you need to check out these 20 stats about why patient financing is a must-have for practices and hospitals in 2019.

Patient Financing Industry Stats

• Patient financing saw a 3.3% annual growth rate between 2014 and 2019
• In the US, there are 217 active patient financing companies in the US
• The patient financing industry is currently worth $24 billion

Unexpected Medical Bills

• 57% of US patients say they have received a bill they thought would be covered by insurance
• 67% of patients worry about unexpected medical bills
• 20% of surprise medical bills are due to out-of-network care

High Deductible Health Plans

• Only 7% of patients with single coverage healthcare have a $0 deductible
• 46% of patients have a deductible between $1000 and $2999
• 1/3 of patients report that it’s “very” or “somewhat” difficult to afford their deductible (KFF)

Provider Spending

• 69% of practices have reported an increase in overhead spending over the last year
• Operating costs have risen 13% since 2013
• Hospitals provided over $112 billion in uncompensated care from 2015 to 2017

Patient and Provider Medical Debt

• 2/3 of people who file for bankruptcy list medical costs as a contributing factor
• 79 million US citizens have medical bills or debts
• 36% of health systems have more than $10 million in bad debt
• 6% of health systems have more than $50 million in bad debt

Demand for Patient Financing

• 89% of patients say they need more than 12 months to pay medical bills
• 79% of patients say they ask their providers about payment options
• 94% of patients expect providers to inform them about repayment options including long-term financing
• 36% of people will delay care if a patient financing program isn’t an option

Epic River Patient Financing

Unexpected medical bills and HDHPs are forcing patients into debt. Meanwhile, provider administrative spending and poor debt collection strategies have led to dwindling healthcare margins.

That’s why you need Epic River’s patient financing program.

Want to start improving collections and patient satisfaction all while watching your profits grow? Contact Epic River today to learn more about how our patient lending software can help you rise above the statistics.