Patient balances are the amounts that a healthcare professional, such as yourself, can charge a patient. This cost is separate from the insurance company's payment and copays. The insurance industry has gone through a drastic change with more and more patients paying higher out-of-pocket expenses than before for their doctor’s visits. The TransUnion Healthcare Analysis of patient payment responsibility has shown an 11 percent increase in out-of-pocket patient expenses, in the span of one year. The average annual expenses paid by the patients have increased from $1,630 to $1,813. That is a significant increase given that the economy and patients’ income situations have remained the same, or worsened.