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I have a high deductible plan and pay for everything under it, as it should be in my opinion. Fortunately, I've had very few medical issues. At the moment, I have an issue I'm dealing with and I'm seeing how broken the current system is in terms of price transparency.
Instead of going in and paying $85 to $150 for a doctor visit, I did an E-Visit for $35. Basically, the doctor and I talk via email. She suggests I get a CT Scan done on my head (to see if it's hollow inside!), orders up an exam at another location with the same provider (done automatically without talking to me first), and says to call to schedule it. All automated, no chance to discuss provider options or where to get it done cost effectively.
I call up the provider and ask to price. The answer, "what ever your insurer determines it to be." (said in an annoyed, final answer tone). I pressed harder, then she told me "between $2,000 to $8,000 dollars." That really helped narrow it down! So then I asked what would be the cash price if I didn't have insurance. Now very annoyed, she said she didn't know, someone else handles that, but since I had insurance, it did not matter anyway. I pressed harder, and got transfered to a v/m, still waiting on a return call.
This morning I emailed my doctor and asked if she could write the order and then let me shop it around at a few different imaging places. I figure my deductible resets Jan. 1 and I won't come close to meeting it, so why not pay in cash if I can get the cost down? Still waiting on a reply, hopefully she will be helpful.
Bottom line: the only reason I know to ask these questions is because I'm in the health insurance business. In my opinion, the provider should be required to disclose the cash price and the insurance price for all procedures / testing done and let the patient select the option that best suites them. That information would immediately end up online and patients could compare costs between different clinic systems on a cash basis.
Does that work for major issues? Probably not and most people would not care since they already reached their deductible. But for routine costs and common procedures, it seems like a no-brainer.
Instead of going in and paying $85 to $150 for a doctor visit, I did an E-Visit for $35. Basically, the doctor and I talk via email. She suggests I get a CT Scan done on my head (to see if it's hollow inside!), orders up an exam at another location with the same provider (done automatically without talking to me first), and says to call to schedule it. All automated, no chance to discuss provider options or where to get it done cost effectively.
I call up the provider and ask to price. The answer, "what ever your insurer determines it to be." (said in an annoyed, final answer tone). I pressed harder, then she told me "between $2,000 to $8,000 dollars." That really helped narrow it down! So then I asked what would be the cash price if I didn't have insurance. Now very annoyed, she said she didn't know, someone else handles that, but since I had insurance, it did not matter anyway. I pressed harder, and got transfered to a v/m, still waiting on a return call.
This morning I emailed my doctor and asked if she could write the order and then let me shop it around at a few different imaging places. I figure my deductible resets Jan. 1 and I won't come close to meeting it, so why not pay in cash if I can get the cost down? Still waiting on a reply, hopefully she will be helpful.
Bottom line: the only reason I know to ask these questions is because I'm in the health insurance business. In my opinion, the provider should be required to disclose the cash price and the insurance price for all procedures / testing done and let the patient select the option that best suites them. That information would immediately end up online and patients could compare costs between different clinic systems on a cash basis.
Does that work for major issues? Probably not and most people would not care since they already reached their deductible. But for routine costs and common procedures, it seems like a no-brainer.
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