When it comes to saving money and shopping around for the best value when purchasing groceries, books, electronics, clothing, automobiles, and vacations - you have the tools you need to help you find the best value. You know how to compare costs, clip coupons, look up prices and research recommendations to determine value. But do you know how to save money on your prescription drugs, contact lenses, dental care and doctors visits?  CNN.com recently published an article to help you save money on drugs and doctors. The article covers tips on:

Dental Care: Have you considered using dental schools for your next dental check-up? These schools charge a lot less than regular dentists. The American Dental Association publishes a list of accredited dental schools you can review.

Contact Lenses: Why pay more than you have to for contact lens? You can purchase your next pair of contact lenses online and save yourself up to 50% of what your eye doctor charges for the exact same contacts. Here is one of many online shopping sites to compare costs.

Prescription Drugs: If you don’t have a sufficient prescription plan, why pay more than you have to when you fill your prescriptions? The Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs website tells you if there is a less expensive drug that could work the same as the one you’ve been prescribed.

Hospital Bills: It is common knowledge that hospitals often make billing errors. You should always review the detailed charges on your bill, and expect to find errors. The Patient Advocate Foundation will help you review your medical bill for no charge.

If you need to become a better consumer of health care (who doesn't?) be sure to read the book recently published by change:healthcare  titled "My Healthcare Is Killing Me."  This book is available online and provides a practical guide to health care covering insurance basics, some helpful terminology, how to choose a provider, and how to select an insurnance plan that's right for you.  The book includes many helpful resources, definitions and examples.  This is a quick read of 140 pages -- well worth your time.  . You will be a more informed health care consumer after reading this book.  Congratulations to the change:healthcare team that wrote this book.

One excellent reason to purchase health insurance is so that you do not have to pay full price (list) for services.  When you have health insurance, you get the discounted (negotiated) price for services that the insurer has negotiated with the health care provider.  If you don’t have insurance, then you are on your own to negotiate a price with the health care provider – and you should definitely ask the provider for a discount. 

 

Insurers and health care providers consider t the “negotiated prices” proprietary information that they don’t want this price publicized.  These negotiated prices are what insured consumers are expected to pay for services, but they are kept a secret and it’s difficult, if not impossible, to find out what these prices are until after you have visited the provider. 

 

From what I have heard, Blue Cross Blue Shield negotiates the best discounts from provider list prices.  Where BCBS negotiates 60% off list, other insurers negotiate 40% off list.  Knowing this can help consumers make informed decisions when purchasing health insurance.

 

Office visit list price:  $100

BCBS negotiated price for office visit: $ 40

Other insurer negotiated price for visit:  $ 60

 

It’s also very interesting that a provider can have up to 100 different prices for the exact same service, one for each type of insurance they accept.  Most price differences have more to do with a doctor’s negotiation power than with the quality of care from the provider.  Wouldn’t it be nice to know up front what providers offer the best value?

 

EyeCare America just announced a public service program to provide senior citizens with free eye exams.  Individuals should call the help line at 1-800-222-3937 to determine if they are eligible.  For additional information on this program, visit the news release.

The perfect health care system is based on transparency. The Healthcare Infomatics blog posting by Michae Craige titled, Healthcare Transparency – a vision of change, shares some interesting thoughts on how transparency, if done correctly, will create incentives at all levels, and motivate the entire health care system to provide better care for less money.  Transparency is a major component of a perfect health care system.

Providers Paying Consumers $$$ for Sharing their EOBs

Here’s an interesting approach to exposing “true” health care prices (the negotiated price providers really charge for their services).  As you well know, most providers and health plans are unwilling to share pricing information before services are delivered.  In a bold move, two innovative health care providers are collecting contracted prices for services from consumers - for a reward. In April 2008, Alliance Community Hospital in Ohio launched a program offering consumers $100 if they share their EOBs so the hospital can find out how much health insurers paid for health care services received at rival hospitals. They received a lot of participation and this program is still active today. Just recently, Wuesthoff Health System in Florida announced a new transparency initiative offering consumers $100 in gas cards if they share cost information on health care services from providers in the surrounding area. This is an attempt to provide consumers with meaningful information on the true cost of health care services.

Transparency brings good things for consumers like:

1. lower prices
2. more innovative services
3. expanded choices
4. better patient care

Wouldn't it be nice to see more providers sharing true price information with consumers?

Today, HSAeducator.com, an online community and educational website on HSAs, posted a blog entry about a consumer's personal experience using OutofPocket.com to look up prices for a strep throat culture. 

" I typed "strep throat" into the OutofPocket.com website and POOF, it gave me pricing for strep throat testing in my area. The tests ranged from $10.00 to $55.00. Unfortunately, the locations listed were really not that near my house, so I couldn't hit the $10.00 strep test store. But I will have an idea of whether the price of the test was good, bad or ugly. "

Thanks for sharing your story.   We invite everyone to use this search tool to look-up prices for routine health care services (MRIs, vaccinations, x-rays, lab tests, office visits, mammograms, dental, vision) and don't forget to post/share prices you paid for actual visits after you receive your statement or EOBs for the service.

Good news for consumers. There are some simple steps you can follow to make sure you keep control of medical bills and make sure you are not being overcharged for services.

First, review your bill very carefully. You can request an itemized bill. Use free online tools to find out what other consumers paid for similar services using OutofPocket, CMS Medicare CPT look-up tools, and Vimo.

Second, you should know if your insurance covers your treatment. If your procedure falls into a gray area, you should submit letters and official paperwork from providers, including referrals that explain why the treatment was necessary.

Third, remember you always have an opportunity to negotiate down the charges. The total charges that appear on your medical bill have no relationship to what the provider will accept as payment in full.  Health care providers bill everyone the same amount, from Medicare to private insurers to the uninsured.  However, the full charges that appear on your bill are much higher than the provider’s actual costs.  The Government and private insurers negotiate a reduced price for services.  Here’s an idea to consider – start by asking your provider how much Medicare would pay for a procedure similar to yours.  Using this information, you should talk to the CFO or billing manager and ask for a reduction to the provider’s actual cost, plus 25%.  By the way, doctors have also suggested patients without insurance try this approach.

Fourth, hire an expert to help you review and appeal your medical bills. If your medical bills are complicated and large, you can hire a medical billing review service.

Source: Elizabeth Ody, “Some simple steps to keep control of medical bills,” Premium Health News Service, September 1, 2008.