Beginning of a health care cost revolution?

[Midpack]

https://www.saveonmedical.com

Save On Medical is an online marketplace where patients can shop online for medical procedures using price transparency to help them make informed care decisions based on cost, quality or convenience — similar to the way Expedia does for travel.

Providers list their self-pay prices on the website and can update their pricing on the fly, communicate directly with patients and even collect patient feedback. Just like airlines and hotels that sell empty seats or rooms at discounted prices, providers are able to offer discounted rates for empty appointment slots.

It’s win for patients because they get a deal and it’s a win for providers too because they can secure payment from the patient before their appointment even occurs.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I wonder about this cost revolution...

Do you really want your important medical operation done by the low-cost bidder ?

 

[marko]

I wonder about this cost revolution...

Do you really want your important medical operation done by the low-cost bidder ?

Reminds me of billboards I'd see in Taiwan advertising Lazik surgery for $25 each eye. Yeah, you go first with your eyes.

 

[Senator]

Reminds me of billboards I'd see in Taiwan advertising Lazik surgery for $25 each eye. Yeah, you go first with your eyes.

That is why you have two...

 

[Bestwifeever]

Don't health insurance companies negotiate contracts with providers that set pricing? How does insurance work with outfits like this? Not seing anything on the site addressing insurance.

 

[Htown Harry]

No thanks, at least for this site.

I typed in my home town and vasectomy reversal. The first recommended clinic was the local university's optometry school!

So maybe we can turn this thread into a joke thread...

Fill the answer to "Did you hear about poor Harry signing up for a vasectomy reversal with an optometrist?"

 

[REWahoo]

Fill the answer to "Did you hear about poor Harry signing up for a vasectomy reversal with an optometrist?"

Yep, he couldn't see himself not having any more kids.

 

[Bestwifeever]

He finally got those floaters fixed.

 

[REWahoo]

He finally got those floaters fixed.

<rimshot!>

 

[pb4uski]

I wonder about this cost revolution...

Do you really want your important medical operation done by the low-cost bidder ?

Reminded me of:

According to Gene Kranz in his book Failure Is Not an Option, "When reporters asked Shepard what he thought about as he sat atop the Redstone rocket, waiting for liftoff, he had replied, 'The fact that every part of this ship was built by the lowest bidder.'"

Seriously though, this site may not be the end all but hopefully it is a start for consumers being able compare prices for more common medical services. How about a requirement that all major insurers provide their customers with access to their negotiated rates with network providers so their policyowners can compare prices for common medical services?

 

[Taxman59]

No thanks, at least for this site.

I typed in my home town and vasectomy reversal. The first recommended clinic was the local university's optometry school!?"

I thought it was the right site because too much will cause you to go blind, and the optometry school could reverse it!


Have the day you deserve, and let Karma sort it out.

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[M Paquette]

What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Texas Proud]

Many of these procedures are very routine and you really do not know if you are getting a good job done or not... the facility is not the determining factor in a number of these, but the person doing it is..


Now, how much can go wrong with X-rays and some of the other scans....


I would not care that I got a good price... heck, I would like it...


Now, if I had a regular doc or a regular clinic because I needed something all the time I might be picky.... but since I have zero knowledge on almost every test that is done to me I have to trust my doc....

 

[ziggy29]

A routine imaging procedure and open heart surgery are two different things. The former is pretty nearly a commodity where I would want the best price. The latter is something where I want the best, regardless of cost.

 

[MichaelB]

I think the choice between price and quality is a red herring. There is no correlation between the two, just as there is no readily available source of data that assesses quality in a meaningful way.

Price transparency can lead to many positive developments and is badly needed in health care.

 

[frank]

I think there should be a law that lets the average person pay the rate negotiated by the big insurance companies, that way we could pay the affordable prices and have good care.

 

[RunningBum]

I wonder about this cost revolution...

Do you really want your important medical operation done by the low-cost bidder ?

You don't have to pick the low-cost bidder. Given the choice of having price information and not having it, I'll go with being informed.

 

[LARS]

I think there should be a law that lets the average person pay the rate negotiated by the big insurance companies, that way we could pay the affordable prices and have good care.

I am sure someone will explain why that is not a great idea, but that seems like an excellent suggestion.


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[rodi]

I think there should be a law that lets the average person pay the rate negotiated by the big insurance companies, that way we could pay the affordable prices and have good care.

I would love for this to happen with medical and dental.

(It's our first year going without dental insurance and DH needs a filling, and younger son needs 2 - I looked at old EOBs and we're being charged DOUBLE the price they took from the insurance company. I will be changing dentists.)

 

[travelover]

I think the choice between price and quality is a red herring. There is no correlation between the two, just as there is no readily available source of data that assesses quality in a meaningful way.

Price transparency can lead to many positive developments and is badly needed in health care.

I could not agree more. The medical industry is regulated with respect to basic standards and coupled with the power of the internet feedback (think Yelp), one can make an informed choice, especially for products that are essentially commodities like lab tests, generic drugs, and minor ailment treatment. The current opaqueness of medical costs is pretty unique, given that it costs Americans about $9000 a year.

 

[Midpack]

Price transparency can lead to many positive developments and is badly needed in health care.

+1. That was my overriding point. What other essential product or service is there where pricing is actively concealed from the customer? I've asked my doctors on several occasions, they say they have no idea even for routine procedures. And how many developed countries have published lists for medical expenses?

 

[pb4uski]

I could not agree more. The medical industry is regulated with respect to basic standards and coupled with the power of the internet feedback (think Yelp), one can make an informed choice, especially for products that are essentially commodities like lab tests, generic drugs, and minor ailment treatment. The current opaqueness of medical costs is pretty unique, given that it costs Americans about $9000 a year.

+1 I think it would be interesting to look at the range of prices charged by one provider for the same procedure... I'm thinking it would be really wide... from the rack rate on the high end to the lowest negotiated rate or perhaps even the Medicare or Medicaid rate on the low end.

 

[athena53]

I tried this link and although it's a step in the right direction, I'm not thrilled. I've got an upcoming colonoscopy and the facility where I booked the appointment will tell me a month before what it's going to cost. (I have a high deductible and it's diagnostic so not covered as preventative.)

First of all, there seem to be a lot of local eye surgery centers in the area doing colonoscopies. It did list the facility I'll be using but when I clicked on it I just got a pop-up saying they'd get a quote and asking for a phone number. I may try it if I get an outrageous number directly from the facility.

 

[marko]

I think the choice between price and quality is a red herring. There is no correlation between the two, just as there is no readily available source of data that assesses quality in a meaningful way.

Price transparency can lead to many positive developments and is badly needed in health care.

Good point, but [bolds mine] why isn't there data that assesses quality v price? Seems to me there's folks out there tracking data on everything; one would think this would be a valuable effort.

 

[mn54]

I would love for this to happen with medical and dental.

(It's our first year going without dental insurance and DH needs a filling, and younger son needs 2 - I looked at old EOBs and we're being charged DOUBLE the price they took from the insurance company. I will be changing dentists.)

Make sure you are comparing apples to apples. The cost of a filling is determined by the material used for the filling and the size of the filling, i.e. the number of surfaces on the tooth.