U.S. Consumers Demand Transparency and Accountability from Health Care...

As U.S. consumers shoulder more of the cost of their health care, they demand more information about costs and quality of care, according to nearly two-thirds of U.S. consumers (64 percent) responding to a nationwide survey. Nearly 85 percent said they believe that hospitals and physicians should be required to disclose the cost of medical services to the public. And more than half said that knowing what hospitals and doctors charge for specific treatments and exactly what insurers pay would influence where they seek care.

Among those respondents who currently have a high deductible health plan, sometimes referred to as an HDHP, which features lower premiums but higher out-of-pocket expenses, six out of 10 strongly agree that their families have become more conscious of health care costs and almost a quarter (22 percent) say they compare doctors and hospitals to find the best value for their money.

Welcome to health care consumerism, where competitive market forces and a demand for transparency may ultimately determine the future landscape of health care, said Paula Fryland, executive vice president and manager of the national health care group within The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (NYSE: PNC). The number of uninsured in the U.S. continues to climb as do premiums for those who retain health care coverage. No one is willing to put a price tag on good health. While people may be willing to pay, they become more selective about procedures and providers, shopping around for the best bargain or the right combination of price and quality that their wallets can bear.

The survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers was commissioned by PNC, a leading financial services provider to the health care industry, as part of a larger survey about health care administration and its impact on patients, hospitals and health plans (http://www.pnc.com/go/presskits).

Consumers More Aware of Medical Billing and Administration

As health care consumers, Americans are paying closer attention to their health care bills, especially Americans with a high deductible health plan. Yet one-third of respondents have trouble understanding the explanation of their health care insurance benefits, and nearly one-quarter report problems getting answers from their insurance company about the status of a medical claim.

Additional survey findings include:

* One-third (33 percent) of consumers surveyed said that in the past year, they have had to contact their health plan at least once to resolve a claim, while one-quarter (26 percent) said they had to call two to three times.

* Fifteen percent of consumers said they pay their medical bills even if the bill has an error.

* Six in 10 consumers (60 percent) did not know that there is a limit on the time they can dispute a claim denial.

Despite their interest in more transparency, many consumers struggle to understand the details of their medical bills and the payment process, said Fryland.

Empowering consumers to control costs and quality

High deductible health plans are changing the landscape of health care insurance. More than half of consumers (55 percent) were aware of high deductible health plans. However, only 19 percent said they would be highly likely to enroll in one if it were offered. The name itself could be the biggest barrier for new subscribers. Still, 56 percent of those currently enrolled in high deductible health plans indicated they would re-enroll in the plan again.

Six in 10 (62 percent) also believed that patients in such a plan would go to the doctor less often, while in fact, those enrolled in a high deductible health plan are split with one-third 'sstrongly agreeing's that they go to a doctor or hospital less often and one-third strongly disagreeing.

Consumers are also demanding more electronic methods of record keeping such as electronic medical records, known as EMRs, which are electronic versions of patients's medical charts that can be accessed online by all health care providers involved with a patient, said Fryland.

Only half (51 percent) of consumers were previously aware of EMRs. However, once defined, six in 10 respondents (61 percent) said that patients would receive better quality care if individuals had an EMR because all care givers would have access to the same patient history and treatment information through a digitized medical record; a majority of hospital executives (79 percent) and insurance executives (70 percent) agreed.

The most important benefit of an electronic medical record, according to consumers, is its portability: nearly eight in 10 consumers agreed or strongly agreed that EMRs allowed for coordinated care even if a patient were treated away from home. More than half of the consumers (57 percent) believed EMRs would result in fewer errors by doctors.

Survey Methodology

The PNC Health Study was conducted by the independent Boston, Massachusetts-based research firm of Chadwick Martin Bailey. The study was based on telephone interviews conducted with 150 executives from U.S. hospitals or health systems, 50 executives from insurance organizations and an online survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers. The survey was completed in February 2007. A PNC e-Health Study media kit containing survey highlights and background information is available through PNC'ss Web site at www.pnc.com/go/presskits.

For over a decade, PNC has been helping health care providers and payors re-engineer workflows and reduce the costs associated with handling massive volumes of monthly transactions. PNC currently processes about 3.5 million health care transactions per month for more than 500 hospitals through established connectivity between hospitals, physician groups, pharmacies and their respective payers nationwide.

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (www.pnc.com) is one of the nation'ss largest diversified financial services organizations, providing consumer and business banking; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management; asset management and global fund services.

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