The Consumer Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute reached out to federal government agencies on what they perceive as misconceptions about medical payment products.
The misconceptions stem from a request for information that federal authorities sent out in July that asserted that so-called “medical payment products” are responsible for the high cost and disfavored practices of healthcare service providers, hospitals, and insurance companies. The associations said this is not an accurate description.
“Many consumers do not have access to sufficient funds to pay the full cost of a particular healthcare service using liquid funds,” the associations wrote in a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Treasury Department. “Having different options to pay for medical care, each with different terms and features, provides consumers with the ability to select a payment product that best suits his or her individual needs and finances.”
The associations point out that the agencies only briefly acknowledge this benefit in the RFI, stating “[i]n some cases, medical payment products may allow patients to access care they would otherwise have to forgo.” However, they fail to further examine these benefits and instead attempt to blame the availability of payment options for the agencies’ broader criticisms of the U.S. healthcare system, the associations said.
The associations contend that the availability of different means of payment expands consumers’ access to health care. Many consumers do not have cash on hand to cover major medical expenses, especially if unexpected or unanticipated, and having a variety of ways to pay makes these services accessible for consumers in different financial circumstances.
In addition, they said that the RFI wrongly attributes the high cost of health care and harmful practices of healthcare providers, hospitals, and insurance companies to the availability of “medical payment products.” Any suggestion that banks and card providers are responsible for rising healthcare costs is incorrect and not grounded in evidence, they stated.
The associations believe that high healthcare costs are best addressed by Congress, state legislatures, insurance and other appropriate regulators rather than placing limits on payment options available to consumers for healthcare services.