Easing Fears of Healthcare Costs Increase Patient Volume

Many Hospital & Healthcare Systems (H&HS) marketers hoping to attract new patients and build their networks are facing many challenges. Reduced patient volumes, healthcare costs, mergers, staffing and financial difficulties are just a few of the many complexities facing healthcare today. Making the situation worse, financial anxieties linked to inflation and high costs of care have pushed patients to delay seeking medical treatment. Some consumers are avoiding medical care altogether. A Gartner study published in November 2022 indicates that 29% of people say that fear of medical costs has led them to go without elements of healthcare to save money. For example, choosing not to do recommended testing. These circumstances have left many H&HS marketers wondering how to navigate the current economic climate. With costs continuing to rise, it’s uncertain when financial pressures will lift for both H&HS and consumers. Upfront Communication of Healthcare Costs = Powerful Point of Differentiation All of this may seem a bit despairing, but there is hope. Your organization can be part of the solution and not the problem. Given the rising expenses and costs, what consumers value is price transparency — especially during challenging times. Simply put, provide cost details upfront. Put yourself in the shoes of your healthcare organizations’ patients for a minute. Picture yourself as the patient and your goal is to make an appointment with a provider. However, you’re unsure of how much the visit will set you back financially. The hospital that you most frequently visit does not have a list of services with pricing, but the neighboring hospital does. You have the opportunity to price shop and compare. The result is a list of services and estimated out of pocket (OOP) costs from a neighboring hospital.  You feel empowered. Your sentiment toward the hospital that offered you your medical costs upfront with clear and competitive pricing is now your care facility of choice. Clear and upfront communication of patient costs serves as a powerful point of differentiation. Lay this groundwork sooner rather than later to remain competitive in this environment. Healthcare Is No longer Immune to Inflation Adding to the numerous challenges we are now witnessing record high inflation and higher prices for medical care. The healthcare sector has been mostly immune to immediate price increases. This was mostly reserved for other industries such as retail. That immunity is starting to fade. In Gartner’s own December 2022 Cost of Living and Price Sentiment survey one-quarter of respondents postponed nonessential medical treatment in response to inflation. Consumers also purchased the less expensive option when it came to their purchases of over the counter (OTC) medications and pharmaceuticals. Many (53%) respondents engaged in some type of cost-cutting when it came to these purchases. Either by switching to a less expensive brand, a store brand, a generic brand or a simpler, less expensive product. Sharing Healthcare Costs Matters for Marketing Leaders A priority moving forward will be for marketing leaders to help ease fears linked to rising medical costs. Marketing leaders can do this by bringing consumer and customer perspective to internal pricing strategy conversations. Simply put, provide consumers with healthcare costs upfront. Clearly communicate your organizations’ offerings by demonstrating value. You can do this through transparent messaging about pricing and price increases without reducing the quality of service. Additional Resources The following resources require a Gartner subscription. For more insights on pricing transparency, check out Pricing Transparency Offers Healthcare CMOs Key to Increasing Patient Volume. For more insights on the Inflation, What Healthcare CMOs Need to Know About Inflation’s Effect on U.S. Consumer Sentiment.