A lack of payment transparency is affecting the financial health of many people.
Visiting the doctor can be a nerve-wracking experience. Aside from receiving a potentially negative diagnosis – or worse, inconclusive testing – we often don’t know what we’ll be paying until after we’ve had a procedure done. In reality, according to one recent survey, 75% of Americans do not know how much they owe on healthcare procedures until they receive bills weeks or even months later.
This is so “normal” that most of us don’t think about how strange it is. Imagine if your local coffee shop worked like this: Based on how tired you look, we think you’ll need a venti caramel macchiato. They hand it to you and send you a bill for eighteen dollars 30 days later. No, thank you!
Unclear costs lead to financial problems. More than one-third of Americans (36%) have failed to pay a medical bill. And when patients are aware that their bills are due, they often delay payment. But not always because they cannot pay. 42 percent of those who delayed payments did so because their deductible was higher than expected. But one-quarter of those were simply waiting to see the total amount. Around 30% delayed payment because they weren’t sure what they owed compared to what their insurer owed.
These payment delays and oversights clearly harm the entities providing treatment and the top and bottom lines of all healthcare providers.
The True Cost Of Free Health Care Services
How much of these expenses are you familiar with? Stay with us if you want to know what is the true cost of free health care services.
1. Variety Of Opinions As To The Cause
The majority of people will tell you that health care is expensive. However, no one can agree on why our healthcare system is so expensive. Is that due to all of the new technology used in health care? Why is that there are so many lawyers suing doctors? Do we make excessive use of our resources? Should we have too many or too few government regulations? Is our healthcare “business” too or too little free? Or is it just that we have the best healthcare system in the world, and this is the price we pay for being so healthy?
Everyone has an opinion, but which one is correct? Is there a single, straightforward answer? Of course not, unless it is the obvious answer—-high costs! That is right, but why are they so high? How much of this information is hidden from you is also important.
Maybe the word “true cost” implies something sinister or secret. I don’t believe the secret is important when you are being robbed in broad daylight every day by the healthcare system. You feel someone digging through your pockets, but you ignore it as usual. That is not the case. And you have the right not to tolerate it.
2. Look At The High Price Of Drugs
Many countries worldwide allow drug companies and hospitals to set their own prices based on what the market can bear, with no interference or governmental control. Other countries control prices through government oversight and will not allow freewheeling, free for all in the market, just to be paid what is charged. According to the law, if you know that Medicare must pay, you must pay whatever amount is charged, regardless of how outrageous it is.
3. Promoting Price Transparency
Price transparency in healthcare is facilitated by displaying co-pay/deductible/co-insurance amounts and including the cost of care estimates before arrival, at the point of service, before surgery, and after insurance claim submission. Patients will be aware of their insurance options and will be able to review estimated costs ahead of time to avoid any billing surprises later.
Another way to help push for more price transparency is to support state legislative efforts that require healthcare agencies to post self-pay prices publicly. Such law has already been enacted in states such as Colorado, and many others are doing the same.
About a quarter of physicians currently discuss costs with patients before providing treatment. Making time for such discussions could reduce uncertainty and earn goodwill, considering that 77 percent of healthcare consumers believe it is important to know the cost of treatment before receiving it.
4. Upgrading Payment Technology
Simple reminders are as effective as cash incentives in certain payment scenarios. Still, one in every five doctors sends reminders to patients nearing a payment due date. Even with the best reminder system in the country, healthcare practices operate at a loss if a patient leaves without paying.
That is where technology can help. New services such as Healthy PASS, VisitPay, and other in-office check-in and payment platforms make it easier for patients to pay digitally at check-in. And help practitioners to be paid for appointments automatically and have patient payment details on hand for any extra charges (a model favoured by most hotels). Adopting new technologies is often difficult, but physicians seem to be ready. To stay independent, 49 percent of those surveyed believe they must develop innovative operating strategies.
Why Don’t We Know The True Cost Of Free Health Care Services?
To start with, almost all financial transactions in health care are hidden from both providers and patients. Doctors order tests, treatments, and medications to manage our patients. But very few of us know how much they cost. Patients rarely pay directly for these services. And payment for any service varies greatly between payers. Billing charges for medical services typically have little relation to the true cost of free health care services or even the expected reimbursement rate for that service.
Billing departments of hospitals are different from those ordering or performing tests or procedures. No one who is directly involved with patient care is aware of the true cost or reimbursement for their services.
Most private doctors’ offices do not even bill their own patients. Instead, they contract billing companies who give them a check each month based on the total amount collected. This leaves them with no idea of the actual cost or payment for any particular service they provided.
So we’ve been discussing the True Cost of Free Health Care Services for years, even though almost all of the individual costs of that system are totally hidden from us. Is it any wonder that the cost of health care has mystified so many?
What Can You Do To Avoid Hidden Free Healthcare Cost?
1. Understand What Service You Are Seeking
To begin, you must clearly understand the service you are looking for. For example, think you don’t have insurance and need a right heart catheterization.
Your procedure consists of two parts: the physician and the hospital (even though the procedure is done as an outpatient and no overnight stay is needed).
2. Talk To Your Doctor’s Office Before
When it comes to physician fees, speak with the practice manager ahead of time to determine the rates. There might be some room to negotiate. In the medical sector, doctors base their fees on Medicare rates. Expect to pay slightly more than Medicare rates.
Even if you have insurance, it is important to know how much the treatment would cost ahead of time. In-network charges can still vary dramatically between in-network hospitals. If you have to pay a premium or co-insurance, this will cost you thousands of dollars.
The Bottom Line
To make free health care work, everyone, including healthy people, must pay healthcare premiums or extra taxes. This money goes into providing all people with a security health blanket. Ideally, with a government-regulated healthcare system, everybody would have access to high-quality free healthcare without any hidden cost. A system like this will provide very affordable preventative care while still strictly controlling the pricing and quality of medications and medical services.
