Story Highlights
- Most Americans are unaware of their healthcare costs in advance
- Americans want more transparency in healthcare costs
- Americans feel healthcare costs do not reflect quality
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Seventeen percent of U.S. adults report they know how much their healthcare products or services will cost before receiving them. Results are similar across key demographic groups, including by race/ethnicity, gender, age, education level, geographic region and health insurance coverage status, suggesting a societywide lack of awareness about one’s healthcare costs, regardless of personal background.
Results for the Bentley-Gallup Business in Society Report are based on web survey responses collected May 8-15, 2023, from 5,458 U.S. adults via the Gallup Panel.
Most Believe Costs for Products and Services Should Be Clearer
While fewer than one in five Americans report they know the cost of their healthcare products or services before receiving them, 95% believe healthcare organizations should make these costs more transparent before providing care. Results are consistent across all major subgroups of the U.S. adult population.
Americans Are Negative About the Quality of Care Respective to Cost
Most Americans do not believe the quality of the healthcare products and services they receive reflects the cost they pay for their care. Only about three in 10 feel the cost of their healthcare products and services reflects the quality of those products and services, and attitudes are similar across subgroups of the U.S. adult population.
Bottom Line
Americans’ concerns about the transparency of their healthcare costs are reported amid record healthcare spending. Federal reports indicate that U.S. healthcare spending grew by 4.1% in 2022, reaching $4.5 trillion or $13,493 per person. At the same time, a record-high percentage of Americans report they have had to put off their medical care due to cost. Results from the Bentley-Gallup Business in Society Report suggest that Americans are increasingly wanting, but are lacking, important information about the costs of their healthcare services, even as prices continue to rise.
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