Individuals are stressed about paying their medical bills every month, but that stress does not necessarily correspond to the bills actually getting paid. In fact, medical bills rank as one of the lowest priority bills that an individual will pay in a given month, according to the results of a new survey.
Medical bills ranked only behind credit cards in the terms of which bills create the most stress, but medical bills fall behind credit cards, phone, Internet, and cable bills when it comes to determining which bills get paid first every month, according to a report released this week by VisitPay, a patient financial engagement platform.
When paying their medical bills, more than one-third use their credit cards and of those people, three-quarters are financing those medical payments over the course of multiple months.
“This timeline, combined with a credit card interest rate in the mid-teens, at best, and into the 20-30% can create significant financial stress for the patient,” said Kent Ivanoff, co-founder and CEO of VisitPay, in a published report. “When compared to the financial repayment offerings that a healthcare system might provide, longer terms and lower interest, the impact of these long-term balances and high-interest rates seem significantly impactful.”
The stress of paying healthcare bills is so great, that 35% of the survey’s respondents said they would consider putting off being treated for COVID-19 in order to not incur a healthcare debt. And 39% are more worried about the financial burden than contracting the virus in the first place.
Among the frustrations listed by consumers when it comes to trying to pay their healthcare debts, surprise costs (31%), how much of the bill is their responsibility (20%) and unclear charges (18%) are the most common complaints.