PitchBook Analyst Note: Creating a Consumer-Centric Patient Payment Ecosystem

The rise of high-deductible health plans has exposed the shortcomings of existing healthcare payment systems, and is one of the many drivers behind the growth of the patient payment market. PitchBook's latest analyst note explores the need for innovative technologies and how the trend is impacting VC interest. Among the takeaways:

• The rise of high-deductible health plans (HDHP) has led to increased patient medical bill burdens and lower payment collection rates.
• We calculate the US patient payment market is valued at $8.0 billion and estimate it will reach $15.0 billion by 2027.
• Relative to other retail payment verticals, the healthcare payments landscape is characterized by a higher level of complexity and a lower level of transparency. For this reason, many health-related payment service providers tend to focus only on the healthcare industry.
• Global VC funding for patient billing providers is on the rise, with $271.9 million raised over four deals in Q1 2021 compared to $270.3 million raised across 11 deals in all of 2020.