Consumers Use ClearBalance Patient Financing to Manage Healthcare Costs as a Budgeted Expense

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Jan 12, 2022, 08:31 ET

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthcare costs rank as one of the top expenses for Americans, beating monthly mortgage/rent, transportation and utilities costs and the monthly food bill, according to a recent KFF health tracking poll. In that same survey, 46% of insured adults say it is difficult to afford out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Approximately 58 million Americans say healthcare costs are a major financial burden, according to a West Gallup survey.

ClearBalance HealthCare^® helps consumers avoid the stress of paying healthcare costs. For 30 years, consumers with a ClearBalance patient financing account have been able to repay their cost of care over time. Increasingly, healthcare consumers are using their ClearBalance Account to manage their medical costs as a line item in their monthly budget. According to the ClearBalance 6^th Annual HealthCare Consumerism Study, 72% of respondents rely on their ClearBalance Account to manage major healthcare costs for themselves and their family.

"Using their ClearBalance Account creates predictability for the household while paying providers immediately for a consumer's out-of-pocket expenses," says Bruce Haupt, president and CEO of ClearBalance HealthCare. "This year will be especially challenging. Rising inflation will have a double-edged sword of making healthcare more expensive for consumers while depreciating the value of patient receivables a health system carries on its books. Patient financing from ClearBalance provides a solution for consumers and providers alike."

Other findings from the Annual Healthcare Consumerism study, published in conjunction with the healthcare research firm Porter Research, show that:

68% of survey respondents are likely to make a pre-service payment as long as they can use their ClearBalance Account to pay the balance
38% would delay care if they weren't able to use their ClearBalance Account
91% very likely will return to the healthcare provider that offers the ClearBalance program

"As we've seen since initiating this survey in 2015, consumer reliance on patient financing in general and the ClearBalance program in particular is very high," says Cynthia Porter, CEO of Porter Research. "The trend over the years is that patients regard the ClearBalance program as their de facto healthcare payment method. ClearBalance remains a strategic asset healthcare providers should leverage for differentiation and patient loyalty and referral."

About ClearBalance HealthCare

ClearBalance HealthCare partners with health systems nationwide to provide consumer-centric patient financing that makes care affordable. Its data-driven approach delivers higher patient adoption and greater patient repayment, which substantially improves health system revenue recovery: lower bad debt and higher cash flow. ClearBalance is the #1 customer-rated patient financing vendor according to Black Book Market Research and is Best in KLAS for patient financing solutions. Patients give ClearBalance loyalty and referral ratings of 91% and 88%, respectively. ClearBalance.org.

About Porter Research

Porter Research has helped healthcare companies address their market intelligence needs. With significant experience working with Fortune 500 healthcare companies and venture-backed emerging technology companies, the Porter executive team has built an impressive practice guiding leaders in the healthcare technology, provider, payer and life sciences sectors.

Read the Executive Brief.