Simplifying Medical Bills to Improve Health Equity

The following is a guest article by Mona Deora, Certified Medical Billing Specialist at BillingFreedom

Records are very important in any health facility but for the patient, they can be a nightmare when it comes to access and analysis. Whether it’s a medical chart, lab results, or discharge summary, these documents are usually formulated in terms that are incomprehensible to any layperson. From the patient perspective, this lack of clarity only makes things more confusing, slows down the process, and, in the worst-case scenario, results in missed or incorrect treatments.

Making records easily understandable is not only about enhancing patient satisfaction but it is also about the enhancement of the healthcare result. Self-availability of records helps patients to understand what is written there and therefore assists them in making the right choices about their health. 

Why Are Medical Records So Difficult To Comprehend?

Medical records contain technical terms, acronyms, and symbols that are understandable by the healthcare providers only. This may be fine within the medical circles, but it most often doesn’t help much to the patients. Just the most fundamental information such as a patient’s medication list or results of a test may not be easy to comprehend and this is where the confusion is caused.

It becomes worse for those who cannot read or understand health terms or those who don’t have English as their First Language. These patients find it even more difficult to understand records, which then compromises their ability to participate in their own treatment plan.

How to Simplify Medical Bills?

Transforming the medical billing process won’t happen overnight, but several practical strategies can make a big difference:

• Use Clear, Everyday Language: Simplify the language used on bills by substituting more technical terms with more plain language (e.g., reference to ‘discount applied’ instead of ‘provider adjustment’)
• Break Down Costs Clearly: This should eliminate confusion, especially when the charges given are a little complicated (e.g., where the charge is ‘blood test,’ the description should be ‘blood test: $100’)
• Include Financial Help Information: To minimize stress to patients with billing issues, include service features such as payment options or financial assistance on the bill

Curious About How Medical Billing Affects Patients? Let’s Explore the Survey Results!

​​The Disconnect in Medical Bills

A survey conducted by InstaMed in 2023 reveals that 70% of consumers continue receiving their medical bills through physical mail, a more archaic method as we transcribe most of our business online. Even more so, 25% of customers said they gave up on efforts to pay for their medical bills since they cannot use a credit or debit card — an acceptance method that is increasingly becoming the norm across most industries.

The Effects of Blurred Lines on Medical Bills

The incongruity between the concept and the reality of medical billing is not just a trivial matter — it has implications. The Bend Financial Study revealed that only 44% of Americans fully understand how their health insurance functions and 47% have no idea about which treatments are in-network and which are not. Moreover, it is astonishing to learn that 60 percent of the consumers said they had avoided seeking treatment because they were not sure about the costs, while 53% of the consumers said the same.

Medical Billing with the Use of Digital Tools

This analysis has found that the use of technology has been one of the prominent means, which can reduce the complexity involved in medical billing. The Health Affairs survey conducted in 2023 revealed that 65% of patients would prefer to be electronically billed than be paper billed.

Clear Medical Billing Influences the Patient

Relatively unambiguous and easy-to-understand healthcare billing can also affect patients’ actions to a considerable extent. That respective study done by Health Affairs also found that when the patient received a clear and transparent billing statement understanding the costs, they were 40% more likely to seek help early instead of putting off or skipping care because they could not cipher what they owed when they looked at a bill.

Conclusion

Reducing medical bills’ complexity is a significant component of rectifying confusion, stress, and inequity that has long plagued the healthcare system. Thus, we can minimize the confusion, promote patient autonomy, and help patients make better health choices, including lowering the current health disparities. Companies are in the vanguard of this evolution, assisting providers and patients in handling billing matters in the health sector with less hassle.

About Mona Deora

Mona Deora is a Certified Medical Billing Specialist with over eight years of experience in the healthcare revenue cycle. Mona works with the technology applied predominantly to decrease billing issues while focusing on improving the patient’s experience. She is working with BillingFreedom to make medical billing more manageable and improve people’s access to healthcare.

The following is a guest article by Mona Deora, Certified Medical Billing Specialist at BillingFreedom

Records are very important in any health facility but for the patient, they can be a nightmare when it comes to access and analysis. Whether it’s a medical chart, lab results, or discharge summary, these documents are usually formulated in terms that are incomprehensible to any layperson. From the patient perspective, this lack of clarity only makes things more confusing, slows down the process, and, in the worst-case scenario, results in missed or incorrect treatments.

Making records easily understandable is not only about enhancing patient satisfaction but it is also about the enhancement of the healthcare result. Self-availability of records helps patients to understand what is written there and therefore assists them in making the right choices about their health. 

Why Are Medical Records So Difficult To Comprehend?

Medical records contain technical terms, acronyms, and symbols that are understandable by the healthcare providers only. This may be fine within the medical circles, but it most often doesn’t help much to the patients. Just the most fundamental information such as a patient’s medication list or results of a test may not be easy to comprehend and this is where the confusion is caused.

It becomes worse for those who cannot read or understand health terms or those who don’t have English as their First Language. These patients find it even more difficult to understand records, which then compromises their ability to participate in their own treatment plan.

How to Simplify Medical Bills?

Transforming the medical billing process won’t happen overnight, but several practical strategies can make a big difference:

• Use Clear, Everyday Language: Simplify the language used on bills by substituting more technical terms with more plain language (e.g., reference to ‘discount applied’ instead of ‘provider adjustment’)
• Break Down Costs Clearly: This should eliminate confusion, especially when the charges given are a little complicated (e.g., where the charge is ‘blood test,’ the description should be ‘blood test: $100’)
• Include Financial Help Information: To minimize stress to patients with billing issues, include service features such as payment options or financial assistance on the bill

Curious About How Medical Billing Affects Patients? Let’s Explore the Survey Results!

​​The Disconnect in Medical Bills

A survey conducted by InstaMed in 2023 reveals that 70% of consumers continue receiving their medical bills through physical mail, a more archaic method as we transcribe most of our business online. Even more so, 25% of customers said they gave up on efforts to pay for their medical bills since they cannot use a credit or debit card — an acceptance method that is increasingly becoming the norm across most industries.

The Effects of Blurred Lines on Medical Bills

The incongruity between the concept and the reality of medical billing is not just a trivial matter — it has implications. The Bend Financial Study revealed that only 44% of Americans fully understand how their health insurance functions and 47% have no idea about which treatments are in-network and which are not. Moreover, it is astonishing to learn that 60 percent of the consumers said they had avoided seeking treatment because they were not sure about the costs, while 53% of the consumers said the same.

Medical Billing with the Use of Digital Tools

This analysis has found that the use of technology has been one of the prominent means, which can reduce the complexity involved in medical billing. The Health Affairs survey conducted in 2023 revealed that 65% of patients would prefer to be electronically billed than be paper billed.

Clear Medical Billing Influences the Patient

Relatively unambiguous and easy-to-understand healthcare billing can also affect patients’ actions to a considerable extent. That respective study done by Health Affairs also found that when the patient received a clear and transparent billing statement understanding the costs, they were 40% more likely to seek help early instead of putting off or skipping care because they could not cipher what they owed when they looked at a bill.

Conclusion

Reducing medical bills’ complexity is a significant component of rectifying confusion, stress, and inequity that has long plagued the healthcare system. Thus, we can minimize the confusion, promote patient autonomy, and help patients make better health choices, including lowering the current health disparities. Companies are in the vanguard of this evolution, assisting providers and patients in handling billing matters in the health sector with less hassle.

About Mona Deora

Mona Deora is a Certified Medical Billing Specialist with over eight years of experience in the healthcare revenue cycle. Mona works with the technology applied predominantly to decrease billing issues while focusing on improving the patient’s experience. She is working with BillingFreedom to make medical billing more manageable and improve people’s access to healthcare.