Intuit Financial Healthcare Check-Up Shows Americans Confused About Medical Statements

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Nearly 40 percent of Americans currently do not understand their medical bills or explanation of benefits statements well enough to know what services they are paying for, why they owe that amount, and if that amount is correct.

These and other results from the Intuit’s 2010 Financial Healthcare Check-Up were released by the Quicken Health Group, a division of Intuit Inc. The study of 1,000 consumers nationwide uncovered Americans’ attitudes and behaviors surrounding their healthcare needs and medical expenses.

The recent study’s key findings also include:

70 percent of consumers are concerned about managing their healthcare bills.

76 percent of consumers believe healthcare costs have increased in the last year; 81 percent believe healthcare costs will increase in the future. — In fact, nearly half of baby boomers surveyed believe their health care costs have drastically increased in the last year and 54 percent believe costs will increase in the future.

23 percent of Americans cannot afford to pay their medical bills.

31 percent of Americans have let a medical bill go to a collection agency.

Interpreting medical bills can be difficult. When a bill arrives in the mail, 16 percent of consumers do not even understand the descriptions of procedures they received, yet more than half rarely or never contact their providers to ask questions or get clarification on a bill.

17 percent of consumers do not know whom to pay — the provider or insurance company.

Despite increasing usage of online bill pay, 57 percent of consumers still pay medical bills by paper check.

72 percent of consumers would use a tool to help them pay their medical bills, easily communicate with doctors, make appointments, and obtain lab results online. By generation, the following would be most likely to use such a tool:

Gen Y (born 1977 — 1991) — 77 percent

Gen X (born 1965 — 1976) — 75 percent

Baby Boomer (1946 — 1964) — 67 percent

84 percent would fill out their medical forms online prior to their appointment if they had that option.

"This study brings to light what we’ve seen in the thousands of hours of in-home visits over the last few years as we developed our healthcare solutions. People are confused, struggling and looking for help as they try to cope with mounting costs and increasing financial responsibility," said Peter Karpas, president and division general manager of Intuit’s Quicken Health Group. "There is a growing demand for online healthcare tools that give consumers greater control over their personal health and wellness services, better communication and interaction with their providers, and the confidence that they have the information they need to make better financial decisions."

About the Quicken Health Group
Utilizing the same consumer focused development process that has created leading solutions for consumers and small businesses like TurboTax(R), QuickBooks(R) and Quicken(R), the Quicken Health Group is a division of Intuit Inc. that is working with health plans, employers and providers to create solutions that make the financial side of health care easier.

About Intuit Inc.
Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks(R), Quicken(R) and TurboTax(R), simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries(R) and Lacerte(R) are Intuit’s leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants. The company’s financial institutions division, anchored by Digital Insight, provides on-demand banking services to help banks and credit unions serve businesses and consumers with innovative solutions.

Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.1 billion in its fiscal year 2009. The company has approximately 7,800 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.