Lack of Knowledge and Changing Healthcare Landscape Impacting Millennial Payments
December 07 2017 - 7:00AM
A new TransUnion (NYSE:TRU) Healthcare Millennial Report found that
nearly six in 10 Millennials (57%) have little to no understanding
of their health insurance benefits. This is significantly lower
than other generations, including Gen X (50%) and Baby Boomers
(42%).
The report also found that despite the vast majority of
Millennials having health insurance, they tend to pay their medical
bills at a slower rate than other generations. In fact, in 2016,
74% of Millennials did not pay their medical bills in full,
compared to 68% for Gen X and 60% for Baby Boomers. Yet, seven in
10 Millennials said they would pay their medical bills in full if
they had the money to do so.
The TransUnion Healthcare Millennial Report reviewed a
combination of proprietary TransUnion Healthcare data and
information from a survey of 1,576 consumers administered in
October 2017. For this analysis, “Millennials” are defined as
consumers born between the years 1980 and 1994; “Gen X” are born
between 1965 and 1979; and “Baby Boomers” are born between 1946 and
1964.
“Millennials are facing a tough road – in some ways they were
placed at an early disadvantage compared to previous generations.
As Millennials were just entering the workforce and likely had less
disposable income, both insurers and employers began cost-shifting
payments,” said Jonathan Wiik, author of the recently published
book, ‘Healthcare Revolution: The Patient Is the New Payer’ and
Principal of Healthcare Strategy at TransUnion Healthcare. “Despite
these challenges, our research indicates that Millennials are
indeed interested in responsibly paying their medical debts, while
at the same time, healthcare providers will need to get innovative
to make the payment process more manageable for millennials.”
Percent of Consumers Who Either Have a
Limited Understanding or No Understanding of Their
Healthcare Insurance Coverage
Generation |
No Understanding |
Limited Understanding |
Total |
Millennials |
18% |
39% |
57% |
Generation X |
15% |
35% |
50% |
Baby Boomers |
8% |
34% |
42% |
According to the report, approximately half of Millennials (46%)
would be more apt to pay their medical bills if they were provided
an estimate of their healthcare costs at the point of service.
Millennials also tend to have less understanding of recent trends
in the healthcare space such as high deductible healthcare plans.
More than ¼ of Millennials (26%) said they don’t understand high
deductible plans, a higher level than Gen X (17%) and Baby Boomers
(9%).
“Healthcare providers looking to improve cash flow from
Millennial patients should look for ways to encourage payments at
the time of service while offering more educational tools to ensure
they better understand the complex healthcare landscape,” said John
Yount, Vice President for Healthcare Solutions at TransUnion.
“This will not only engage them early, it will protect revenue from
leakage, and provide an overall better patient
experience.”
Additional findings from the TransUnion Healthcare survey
include:
- 35% of Millennials do not plan for medical or healthcare
expenses as part of their budget.
- 80% of Millennials do not have a Health Savings Account in
which to pay for out-of-pocket expenses.
- 37% of Millennials have private commercial health insurance.
- 51% of Millennials do not feel prepared to manage
healthcare/medical expenses; compared to 42% of Gen-Xers and 33% of
Baby Boomers.
- 40% of Millennials compare the cost of services by healthcare
provider compared to 29% of Gen-Xers and 22% of Baby Boomers.
For more detailed information about TransUnion’s Millennial
study, please click here.
About TransUnion Healthcare
TransUnion Healthcare, a wholly owned subsidiary of credit and
information management company TransUnion, is a trusted provider of
revenue cycle management solutions for maximizing reimbursement,
improving patient engagement, and ultimately increasing the
effectiveness of the healthcare system. We deliver this by
leveraging our data assets, market-leading revenue cycle management
technologies, and deep insights into consumer financial behavior,
to help providers reduce uncompensated care and improve cash flow
with one of the most patient-centric revenue cycle management
systems on the market today. www.transunionhealthcare.com
About TransUnion (NYSE:TRU)
Information is a powerful thing. At TransUnion, we realize that.
We are dedicated to finding innovative ways information can be used
to help individuals make better and smarter decisions. We help
uncover unique stories, trends and insights behind each data point,
using historical information as well as alternative data sources.
This allows a variety of markets and businesses to better manage
risk and consumers to better manage their credit, personal
information and identity. Today, TransUnion has a global presence
in more than 30 countries and a leading presence in several
international markets across North America, Africa, Latin America
and Asia. Through the power of information, TransUnion is working
to build stronger economies and families and safer communities
worldwide. www.transunion.com/business
Contact |
Dave Blumberg |
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TransUnion |
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E-mail |
dblumberg@transunion.com |
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Telephone |
312-985-3059 |
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