Empowered Patient Podcast Managing Medical Debt and the Impact of Cost Transparency with Ryne Natzke Sphere
Ryne Natzke, Chief Revenue Officer for Sphere, works with healthcare providers to facilitate patient payments using technology to smooth the process. Medical debt is increasing, and reports are that nearly half of Americans can not afford an unexpected $500 medical expense without stress to their budgets. Transparency of costs and adding flexibility to patients for payments are key to reducing the impact of preventative and unexpected medical costs.
Ryan explains, "The thing about medical debt also is that it, by definition, is almost always unexpected. You don't plan to go to the emergency room or do anything like that, and this is beyond just having insurance. This is debt that a patient owes after insurance already takes care of their side. So, it's impacting a large number of Americans and has a really big impact on their day-to-day lives and day-to-day finances."
"The two things that come to mind for me are transparency and flexibility. As we talked about at the beginning, a lot of it is the unknown and for the most part, is also unexpected. Giving patients information about what they owe and why ahead of time, before the care has been delivered before the claim is adjudicated and the final bill becomes due, is important, before it's too late to change behaviors. So, if you can help somebody budget, or if you could help somebody prepare for what's going to be coming down the line, it allows them to make more informed decisions."
@SphereCommerce #MedicalDebt #HealthcarePriceTransparency #MedicalInsurance #Patients