A majority of patients (55 percent) have started paying more attention to their medical bills during the past year, according to a survey conducted by the risk management company TransUnion.
TransUnion surveyed 1,039 insured household decision-makers who had either personally received medical care or had a family member on their policy receive care within the past two years. Of those surveyed, 67 percent said they want to know the details of both their own out-of-pocket costs and the portion covered by insurers. Furthermore, 75 percent said previous bills and costs were either very important or extremely important factors in their decisions to enroll or stay enrolled in health plans.
Additionally, 63 percent said healthcare reform has made them more concerned about the cost of coverage, 62 percent said it had increased their concern about out-of-pocket costs and 60 percent said they were more concerned about the total cost of care, according to the survey.
These results indicate that cost transparency is becoming a more important factor to patients deciding whether or not to seek care and choosing a healthcare provider, according to a TransUnion news release.
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