New Ways for Patients to Pay Their Medical Bills Work to Address Rising Costs

“ IOUSOS.com® empowers patients to choose their own price on their healthcare bills earning attractive discount savings anytime, anonymously and securely. ”

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(iHealthWire.Org) – WITH UNPAID MEDICAL BILLS RISING, WHO’S TO BLAME WHEN MILLIONS OF PATIENTS ARE IN CHRONIC FINANCIAL PAIN?

Millions of Americans are unable to pay their medical bills today, resulting in significant financial hardship for families across the country. 21% of Americans in a recent Gallup survey said they were struggling with medical bills. According to Harvard researchers, medical bills caused 62% of all personal bankruptcies filed in the U.S. in 2007. 78% of those filers had medical insurance at the start of their illness, including 60.3% who had private insurance coverage, excluding those covered under Medicare and Medicaid. So who is at fault, when so many patients, including those with private insurance, still can’t pay their medical bills?

Many trends have contributed to increased financial problems for patients who are footing more of the bill for healthcare costs out-of-pocket. Estimates suggest that as many as 47 million Americans are uninsured and are responsible for their healthcare costs. A recent Kaiser Foundation study in the US showed that health insurance premiums rose 131% since 1999 – while wages only rose 38%, or inflation, which increased 28%. The same study showed that 21% of American employers reduced health benefits or increased employee costs for healthcare. Over the last four years, the percent of workers responsible for paying the first $1,000 of their medical bills out of pocket before insurance benefits applied rose from 10% to 22%. These high deductible plans are growing in popularity among small businesses across the US and will likely result in additional financial challenges for patients.

One healthcare technology company’s solution to confront the rapid rise in out-of-pocket costs for patients today: create an online platform (https://www.iousos.com) that allows budget-conscious patients to bid on a lower medical bill from their healthcare provider to save money like other online auction or travel websites.

IOUSOS.com® found that patient spending on healthcare bills, because of growing consumerism in healthcare, could be influenced by money-saving offers, loyalty programs, transparency, and price competition. Despite these powerful trends today, many healthcare organizations continue to overlook the simple economic truths that consumers have the power to choose what bills to pay, how much, and when. Empowering patients to choose their own price on their healthcare bills at IOUSOS.com®, earning attractive discount savings anytime, anonymously and securely in the privacy of their own home or office, is powerful motivation.

“Despite significant media attention on healthcare reform recently, there is little evidence that any of the proposed government solutions will produce real money-saving results for so many consumers who will continue to pay more out of pocket costs on medical bills whether insured or uninsured,” said Brian Mullally, CEO of IOU SOS™. “We wanted to do our part creating real solutions to help people pay their medical bills and improve their lives.”

IOUSOS.com® empowers patients to save money on their medical bills. In less than three minutes on IOUSOS.com®, a patient can discount their medical bill, pay and move on with their life. For more information, please visit https://www.IOUSOS.com, or email info@iousos.com.

IOU SOS™ © 2010 Patent Pending.