Administration costs associated with healthcare claims and billing account for nearly one out of every three dollars that patients spend on health care, according to a survey of 200 executives from hospitals and insurance companies commissioned by The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. In contrast, 76% of the 1,000 consumers surveyed said they think that healthcare administration should account for just 10% or less of total healthcare costs, with a large majority indicating they would be “highly upset” if those administrative costs were as high as 30%. Seventy-nine percent said they would like to see an itemization of the portion of their healthcare bills that goes to administration versus clinical care. Both hospital and insurance executives said that the healthcare transparency movement will include scrutiny of administrative overhead costs.
When asked how much could be saved annually if they had a more efficient claims, billing, and payment process, one-third of hospital and health plan executives said their organizations could save at least $1 million a year. Read the news release.
