Cost Estimates Encourage Timely Payment, Loyalty

Disconnects between what patients want and what providers offer can be attributed to poor communication between the two parties. For example, 87 percent of surveyed organizations can provide cost estimates at time of service, yet only a small portion of patients indicate they receive one without asking for it, according to Waystar’s 2018 Patient Payment Check-Up Survey ™, which polled more than 1,000 patients and 900 healthcare financial leaders.

This finding sheds light on an opportunity for providers to offer estimates as a matter of course, which will encourage patients to pay their bills in a timelier fashion. As an added benefit, nearly 70 percent of patients say if they were to receive a cost estimate, they would be more likely to recommend the organization to a friend.

Patient Responses to Cost Estimates

Dustin Hamilton is vice president of product management, Waystar.