Recent bumps in both global and national inflation have affected nearly every sector, and healthcare is no exception. With healthcare costs already soaring for many Americans, further increases by insurance companies and facilities can lead to patients deferring care and risking poorer outcomes.
Weave, a company whose interface helps support patient-physician engagement, has recently reported that more than half of the practices which utilize their platform have hiked their prices.1 Of the cohort that raised their prices, around half had increased by a substantial amount of six to 15 percent, with five percent increasing by 15 percent or more.1 The remaining practices which had not yet increased their prices reported planning to do so in 2023.1
These changes are related to a broader trend of inflation following the end of the pandemic. In 2020, the net inflation rate was reflective of trends in previous years, and even slightly depressed due to COVID-19 uncertainties.2 However, in April 2021, that rate jumped to 4.2 percent, eventually peaking at over 9 percent during 2022.2 Trends such as these have led to increasing concerns of a recession, which in turn has negatively affected consumer demand for more expensive products and services. Unfortunately, healthcare remains at the top of that list.
Rising healthcare costs might be the reason that 67 percent of practices enrolled in Weave experienced trends of patients deferring care, and thirty-one percent saw an increase in the number of patients enrolled in a payment program to make their care more affordable.1 These trends were mirrored in a series of polls performed by Gallup: when asked, 1,000 adult Americans admitted that they or a member of their family had chosen to delay medical treatment due to financial concerns.3 This is a twelve percent increase from past years, meaning that acute economic changes are the likely culprit. Gallup further reported that there was a spike in patients delaying care not only for general checkups, but also for serious conditions. Deferring care, whether due to healthcare costs or other reasons, can have major impacts on health, as illnesses can be harder to treat as they progress. As expected, the increase in delayed care differed by income bracket. Those with less financial security were more likely to delay care in the face of a recession than those with substantial income and savings.1,3
What happens when visits to a healthcare provider are either (1) delayed or postponed indefinitely, or (2) subject to increasing financial constraints? Survey data points to increasing tension on the side of both the patient and the provider:
“Just over half of responding providers said that patients are now “less reasonable” than they were a year earlier, while 13% said they believe their patients trust them less than they did 12 months back. Fifty-two percent said they believed patient expectations have increased since the start of the pandemic, while 87% of providers said they think their patients lie to them during appointments.
For their part, 62% of patient respondents said that they have felt rushed, not heard or not paid attention to by a provider during the past 12 months. More than half told [Weave] that they have experienced anxiety prior to a medical appointment.”1
As financial uncertainty continues, patient concerns over affordability will likely become more and more relevant. If possible, these concerns should be addressed explicitly over the course of a visit when discussing the feasibility of various treatment options. Increased financial transparency is important for maintaining the patient-physician relationship and building realistic treatment plans.
References
1. Muoio, D. (2023, January 18). Providers’ price hikes push patients to defer care, rely on payment plans, surveys say. Fierce Healthcare. Retrieved from https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/providers-price-hikes-pushing-patients-defer-care-rely-payment-plans-surveys-say
2. Q.ai – Powering a Personal Wealth Movement. (2022, December 13). How much has inflation increased in 2022? and are prices still rising? Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/qai/2022/12/12/how-much-has-inflation-increased-in-2022-and-are-prices-still-rising/
3. Brenan, M. (2023, January 19). Record high in U.S. put off medical care due to cost in 2022. Gallup.com. Retrieved from https://news.gallup.com/poll/468053/record-high-put-off-medical-care-due-cost-2022.aspx