If you have a health insurance deductible to satisfy, or if you are enrolled in a consumer driven healthcare plan, or if you have out-of-pocket costs that add up to more than $25/visit, I am sure you try to make the most of your health care dollars by finding low-cost providers that offer the best value. How do you find these low-cost providers?
Starting November 1st, I am polling the community to find out how you search for health care prices. I am interested in understanding how different consumers search for low-cost healthcare prices. What tools do you use to compare prices for health care services? What “search terms” do you type in Google to find prices for health care services?
Let’s assume you visited your doctor and you need to have a non-emergency test or procedure performed. How do you go about your search to compare prices for services like MRIs, x-rays, mammograms, vaccinations, lab tests, or a colonoscopy? Do you ask your doctor for estimated prices? Do you call the hospital or facility and ask for prices? Do you ask your family, friends or neighbor to compare what they paid? Do you call your health insurance hot-line for prices and recommendation on where to get the best value for this service? Do you use Google to search? If so, what search terms do you use?
Send me an email to let me know what search terms you would use (or have used) to look-up and compare health care prices for specific services. The first 1,000 people to respond will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate. Email entries will be accepted through November 30, 2008.
Here are the details to be included in the drawing for the $50 Amazon gift card. Send an email to info@OutofPocket.com and in your email message be sure to include:
(1) What specific resources you would use (search engines, websites, online tools)
(2) What search terms you would use to find prices for health care services
(3) An email address where we can contact you, to notify you if you win the drawing
Good luck and thanks for sharing your search tips with us.