A recent survey by TransUnion Healthcare has found the majority (54 percent) of insured consumers are either sometimes or always confused by their medical bills.
The survey made several findings concerning price transparency. The survey found 63 percent of survey respondents want to know the full cost of care, including their insurance company's portion, while 35 percent said they only cared about their direct medical costs. The survey also found 62 percent of survey respondents were either sometimes or always surprised by their out-of-pocket medical costs.
Although 80 percent of respondents said receiving pre-treatment cost estimates and pre-treatment insurance coverage estimates would be helpful in managing medical costs, only about 25 percent of the respondents had received pre-treatment cost estimates from providers.
"Today's cost-aware consumer has a greater expectation that providers will offer upfront cost estimates and timely and accurate post-treatment bills," said Dave Wojczynski, senior vice president of TransUnion Healthcare, in a news release.
The survey was based on responses from 7,407 insured household decision-makers who had either personally received medical care, or had a family member on their policy receive care in the past two years.
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