We are seeing a trend in health care, treating the patient like a consumer and courting them. We see it in the review surveys we receive after visiting the hospital or in the services offered like better food choices while an inpatient. But, so far, we are not seeing it in the way fees are negotiated.
According to Consumer Union, most countries have standard fee schedules and give estimates of your charges prior to a procedure or hospitalization. But not the U.S., even though about two thirds of us have said we would like to know in advance what we will be responsible for. Sleeping in a hospital bed is like riding in an airline seat. What you pay can be more or less than the patient next door but is seldom the same. The price of a procedure is not what it is worth, the price is what your insurance company will pay. And if you have no insurance, the price is not limited by company negotiations which means the poor soul without insurance will pay the highest fees.
But in this new consumer oriented medical world, the patient is increasingly holding the power. It just hasn't trickled down to the Billing Department yet. How do we make progress in this area? We simply ask. Ask what your bill will be before you see your physician. Ask what your blood work, Cat scan, MRI, or mammogram will cost before you undergo the procedure. Ask what the average cost for using the surgical suite is, what the usual in hospital daily fee is, ask how much your routine medications will cost and if you can bring your own Meds to save money. Of course, no one will be able to answer your questions. Smile and ask to speak to a supervisor. But prepared to be delayed considerably while registration grumbles and points at you from across the room. You will probably have to give in and give up. But you will have made a point, that you want to know how much something is going to cost and mostly, that you care what it is going to cost.
If the administrators of our health care get the message that we are monitoring how much our care costs and that it is at least as important as whether there is a recliner in every room or if we can order wine with our dinner, they will respond appropriately.
We just might change the system!
According to Consumer Union, most countries have standard fee schedules and give estimates of your charges prior to a procedure or hospitalization. But not the U.S., even though about two thirds of us have said we would like to know in advance what we will be responsible for. Sleeping in a hospital bed is like riding in an airline seat. What you pay can be more or less than the patient next door but is seldom the same. The price of a procedure is not what it is worth, the price is what your insurance company will pay. And if you have no insurance, the price is not limited by company negotiations which means the poor soul without insurance will pay the highest fees.
But in this new consumer oriented medical world, the patient is increasingly holding the power. It just hasn't trickled down to the Billing Department yet. How do we make progress in this area? We simply ask. Ask what your bill will be before you see your physician. Ask what your blood work, Cat scan, MRI, or mammogram will cost before you undergo the procedure. Ask what the average cost for using the surgical suite is, what the usual in hospital daily fee is, ask how much your routine medications will cost and if you can bring your own Meds to save money. Of course, no one will be able to answer your questions. Smile and ask to speak to a supervisor. But prepared to be delayed considerably while registration grumbles and points at you from across the room. You will probably have to give in and give up. But you will have made a point, that you want to know how much something is going to cost and mostly, that you care what it is going to cost.
If the administrators of our health care get the message that we are monitoring how much our care costs and that it is at least as important as whether there is a recliner in every room or if we can order wine with our dinner, they will respond appropriately.
We just might change the system!
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