Simple Ideas to Reduce Medical Costs
It just galls me that medical costs continue to rise in this country and anyone who can do anything about it just wrings their hands. With most folks having to pay more out of pocket costs, we need some help to keep costs contained. Here's a couple of ideas from the "peanut gallery" which would help reduce the costs YOU pay for medical treatment.
1. Require the medical community to provide a good faith estimate of the costs of a procedure, especially for non-emergency and elective procedures. Right now, the costs you pay when you have a procedure done are a mystery shrouded in an enigma. Don't kid yourselves, hospitals and clinics know exactly what the costs are to perform most of the procedures they do. If they didn't, they would not be able to bill you. I realize that some procedures are more complicated than others, and there are always extenuating circumstances, but at least we should be provided a range of costs. If you take you car in to have a muffler replaced, there are Federal and State requirements that an estimate be given to you in writing before any work can commence. If I am spending thousands on a simple procedure like a colonoscopy, I should be able to price shop. In fact I had this done recently, and found the variance in costs to be as much as 50% between local providers, not that it was easy at all to get this data. Consumers are able to price shop for everything (cars, groceries, gasoline) but are prevented from price shopping for medical attention. I wonder whose interests this serves?
2. Require medical providers to itemize their bills in english. I want to know how much it cost me to have a blanket provided, a drink of water, and a pair of slippers. The way medical invoices read a person would be hard pressed to figure this out. Further, medical providers do not want you to know that a drink of water cost you $25. Such truth in billing is required by nearly every consumer business and lending institution I can think of.
3. Require medical providers to give you a complete copy of your records within a day or two of your request. If you do not have access to your records, it is very difficult to go to another provider without having that provider start all over again with your medical history. This costs money. Your money. Your medical records are yours, not your doctors and certainly not your hospitals.
These are simple, common sense ideas that if implemented would allow us here in the "peanut gallery" to have more control over the costs we pay for medical services, and would force medical providers to be accountable. If you are accountable for your medical costs shouldn't you get the basic information you need to make an informed decision?
1. Require the medical community to provide a good faith estimate of the costs of a procedure, especially for non-emergency and elective procedures. Right now, the costs you pay when you have a procedure done are a mystery shrouded in an enigma. Don't kid yourselves, hospitals and clinics know exactly what the costs are to perform most of the procedures they do. If they didn't, they would not be able to bill you. I realize that some procedures are more complicated than others, and there are always extenuating circumstances, but at least we should be provided a range of costs. If you take you car in to have a muffler replaced, there are Federal and State requirements that an estimate be given to you in writing before any work can commence. If I am spending thousands on a simple procedure like a colonoscopy, I should be able to price shop. In fact I had this done recently, and found the variance in costs to be as much as 50% between local providers, not that it was easy at all to get this data. Consumers are able to price shop for everything (cars, groceries, gasoline) but are prevented from price shopping for medical attention. I wonder whose interests this serves?
2. Require medical providers to itemize their bills in english. I want to know how much it cost me to have a blanket provided, a drink of water, and a pair of slippers. The way medical invoices read a person would be hard pressed to figure this out. Further, medical providers do not want you to know that a drink of water cost you $25. Such truth in billing is required by nearly every consumer business and lending institution I can think of.
3. Require medical providers to give you a complete copy of your records within a day or two of your request. If you do not have access to your records, it is very difficult to go to another provider without having that provider start all over again with your medical history. This costs money. Your money. Your medical records are yours, not your doctors and certainly not your hospitals.
These are simple, common sense ideas that if implemented would allow us here in the "peanut gallery" to have more control over the costs we pay for medical services, and would force medical providers to be accountable. If you are accountable for your medical costs shouldn't you get the basic information you need to make an informed decision?
posted by slates at 10:05 AM
1 Comments:
I agree these are common sense ideas, and ones I think would be helpful in keeping both the cost of medical care as well as the cost of insurance down. To my way of thinking, the cost of prescription drugs is an even more pressing problem, and one that could be solved if our Congressmen and President would take a stronger stance. Any ideas on bringing down the cost of prescription drugs? -- Looking For Answers
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