Americans are willing to pay more for quality care

When it comes to health care quality, 57% of American consumers are willing to pay more for it, according to a survey by AKASA, a health care technology company.

Respondents were asked: “When you seek out health care, are you willing to pay more or less for any of the following factors?” Quality of care ranked first, followed by ability to work the care team of choice (47%), ability to work with hospitals of choice (41%), location proximity or convenience (41%), and ability to get an appointment quickly (40%).

The survey also found that most Americans are willing to travel for a reasonable price in health care, but will not go to extraordinary lengths to access the best price. The vast majority (82%) of Americans prefer to stay within 50 miles when seeking the best price.

“The findings can help healthcare leaders prioritize what to focus on when thinking about their bottom lines through the lens of what patients are willing to pay for and aligning it with improving the patient experience,” said Amy Raymond, vice president of revenue cycle operations at AKASA, in a statement. “However, the quality of care is often diminished by the less-than-stellar patient financial experience.

“Investing in improving the financial experience for patients and transforming revenue cycle operations can go a long way in building goodwill with patients to complement the outstanding quality of care they are willing to pay for. By leveraging automation, overhauling workflows and deploying staff to concentrate on more challenging assignments that require a human touch, the revenue cycle can match the level of service provided on the clinical side and create loyalty among patients.”