2 days ago
Four Steps To Saving Money On Hospital Care
My older brother recently had knee replacement surgery. He tried to get information from his orthopedic team about what it would cost. You see, he was about to sign up for Medicare (I told you: older brother) and wanted to know his out-of-pocket costs under different insurance plans.
No one on the healthcare team could help him. Even as medical professionals, they were too confused by the insurance system to figure out their own billing.
That is unacceptable. But it is not even a full picture of how dysfunctional healthcare pricing is in the US.
I have written a lot (here, here, and even a book) about the maddening inscrutability of American healthcare prices, so I thought it would be impossible to get even angrier about the topic. Then I came across a study by Merina Thomas, Peter Cram, and colleagues out of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. The research team hunted for healthcare prices online at 60 US hospitals. Then they had 'secret shoppers' call the hospitals to get prices. Two chances to get information, in other words; two opportunities to find out what things cost.
And what did the study show?
1. There was enormous variation in prices, a major reason it is critical for patients to shop.
At one top-ranked hospital, a brain MRI cost only $418; at another it cost $6864. The average price hovered around $2500.
At one top-tier hospital, an uncomplicated vaginal childbirth cost less than $11,000; at another it cost more than $14,000.
2. Prices were often inconsistent within the same hospitals. A given hospital would quote one price online and another price when talking to a secret shopper on the phone. Some of these discrepancies were befuddlingly large.
A $20,000 online quote for childbirth, but a quote of only $4000 by telephone.
A $7000 online estimate for an MRI compared to less than $2000 estimate given by telephone.
Here is a picture of these discrepancies:
What is an American to do?
First, look online for price information when you face potential out-of-pocket costs.
Second, if you cannot find price information online, make a phone call.
Third, even if you do find online information, call up the hospital – you might get a lower estimate. Take down the name of the person you spoke with and hold the hospital to whichever estimate is lower.
Fourth, if you have a choice of hospitals for a test or procedure, take the time to shop around. Without price pressure from patients, hospitals will keep charging too much while doing their best to hide their prices.
