Cedar Expands Financial Engagement Platform Across Healthcare Ecosystem in 2022

NEW YORK, January 5, 2023 (Newswire.com) - The patient financial experience landscape has changed dramatically over the past year, as financial pressures are at an all-time high across the healthcare ecosystem. For patients, out-of-pocket spending has swelled to over $400 billion annually, while hospital operating margins continue to decline amidst a challenging labor market and ongoing supply chain issues. In order to adapt, healthcare organizations are now reevaluating how they engage with their patients and members, taking a more consumer-oriented approach. 

As a result, Cedar, an enterprise financial engagement platform that improves the end-to-end journey for consumers, continued to experience strong demand for its technology suite in 2022, improving consumer engagement and reducing administrative and billing friction across the healthcare industry. 

"We are seeing that traditional approaches to the patient financial experience are no longer driving positive outcomes for healthcare providers, payers or consumers," said Florian Otto, CEO and Co-founder of Cedar. "Over the past year, we've worked with our client partners to improve important metrics around financial results, patient satisfaction and digital engagement, leveraging our expanded Cedar Suite to simplify and optimize consumer experiences along the end-to-end healthcare journey. As we head into 2023, I'm looking forward to introducing new ways to address the systemic challenges consumers face when paying for healthcare."

Improved financial results and patient satisfaction for the nation's leading health systems

Through partnerships with more than 55 healthcare organizations, including Novant Health and Summit Health, Cedar was able to drive measurable impact across the healthcare industry: 

• As of December 2022, Cedar is engaging with 22 million patients on an annualized basis, representing a 120% increase since the beginning of 2021.
• Cedar had 13 successful go-lives with health systems and payers, including Allegheny Health Network, CentraCare and Talkiatry.
• With Cedar Pay, Cedar's flagship post-visit billing and payment solution, provider clients continued to see up to a 30% lift in patient payments and 95% digital self-service payments, with 89% of patients reporting an exceptional financial experience. 
• Cedar also demonstrated a measurable impact in improving healthcare affordability, with personalized payment plans that have both lowered default rates and increased payment rates. 
• The company's innovative technology and impact on the healthcare financial experience was recognized by FierceHealthcare, Forbes, CB Insights and Medtech Breakthrough. Additionally, Memorial Hermann Health System, a nonprofit, award-winning health system committed to creating healthier Houston communities, joined Cedar's investors in the company's Series D funding round. 

Expanded offerings to meet the needs of healthcare providers, payers and consumers 

With two new product offerings, Cedar now offers the only end-to-end patient billing platform that coordinates payer and provider outreach:

• In March 2022, Cedar launched Cedar Pre, a pre-visit product that offers a personalized, concierge experience for consumers preparing for care by facilitating financial estimates and patient intake. This solution is currently live and available, including at AnMed and Springfield Clinic.
• In November 2022, Cedar released the Payer Intelligence Layer, enabling Cedar to integrate data from health insurers and healthcare providers to create a single source of truth for consumers managing medical bills. Initially available with Cedar Pay, Cedar's billing and payment solution, the Payer Intelligence Layer enables consumers to access insurance statements, real-time deductible status and health benefit accounts in the same place where they view and resolve medical bills. Pittsburgh-based Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network were the first to launch the new technology.

Reinforced leadership in—and advocacy for—healthcare consumerism

Cedar fostered opportunities for healthcare organizations to create consumer-grade patient experiences in a competitive marketplace:

• Cedar partnered with The Health Management Academy (The Academy) to launch The Academy-Cedar Consumer Co-Lab, bringing together senior executives from the nation's Leading Health Systems to establish an experiential learning community for healthcare leaders who emphasize fostering consumerism as a strategic priority.
• At the inaugural event, which took place in October 2022 with 48 attendees across 27 systems, Cedar introduced the Healthcare Consumer Score workshop, a first-of-its-kind measurement system for the consumer experience—specifically for healthcare.

Expanded partner ecosystem

Cedar partnered with digital health marketplaces and healthcare technology and services companies, combining expertise and product offering to bring innovation to healthcare and improve the consumer financial experience: 

• This year, Cedar became an endorsed business partner of the Hospital Association of Southern California (HASC), an endorsed partner of the Montana Hospital Association and was also awarded a purchasing agreement for Patient Engagement with Premier, Inc. 
• Following the launch of Cedar Pre, Cedar was featured as one of the first awarded suppliers on Panda Health's new solution category, Digital Patient Intake.
• Through Cedar's Payer Intelligence Layer, the company partners with HSA banks, allowing for the integration of real-time HSA, FSA and HRA balances, so consumers are informed of available funds and can make simple payments from these accounts.

Cultivated an engaging hybrid work environment

Cedar's new hybrid workstyle model is designed for the utmost flexibility, giving employees the ability to choose a workstyle that best meets their needs—whether full-time, split between home and office or periodically visiting:

• Cedar moved its headquarters to the iconic 32 Avenue of the Americas building in New York City—a space curated to promote community and connection.
• Cedar was recognized as a top place to work by Inc., Built In and Forbes, all for the second year in a row.
• Cedar fosters a collaborative and inclusive work environment, as seen in a recent Built In feature.

To learn more about Cedar, visit www.cedar.com. 

About Cedar

Cedar is committed to improving the healthcare billing experience for all. With an innovative platform that connects providers and payers, Cedar empowers healthcare consumers with an optimized journey—all powered by data science and interactive design. For Cedar clients, this leads to improved financial outcomes, more efficient operations and greater consumer loyalty. To learn more about why leading U.S. healthcare organizations trust Cedar to manage the end-to-end financial experience from pre-registration to post-visit billing, visit www.cedar.com and join us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Source: Cedar