What's your health worth?

A few weeks back I went to the doctor and in the waiting room I overheard a patient ask the front office staff how much his colonoscopy would cost him. The reply - “I don’t know, ask your insurance company.” But what if instead the answer was, “How much is it worth to you?”

That’s exactly what some doctors in California tried, just for a day.

These primary care doctors didn’t accept insured patients or those on Medicare and Medicaid for one day – only the uninsured. Patients were asked to give whatever they could afford or whatever they thought the care was worth.

While the docs felt great helping the uninsured community - patients didn’t come near covering what the services actually cost and the doctors ate the costs for the day – so this experiment turned into something unsustainable. The patients didn’t really know how much the health care really costs.

So this got me thinking… what if health care worked that way – offering what you could, and not worrying about the real cost? Unfortunately that’s not reality in any sector of our economy. Otherwise we would all live in nice homes, drive nice cars, and enjoy great restaurants, among other things.

But how much should we pay for health care? Well, unfortunately we have to pay what it really costs, and this experiment also demonstrated that no one really KNEW what it costs, which is part of the problem fueling rising health care costs.

None of us really know what it costs because “someone else” is covering it. In reality, we’re all covering it though – through rising premiums and higher doctor and hospital bills. Because when one person fails to pay the whole bill, the money has to come from somewhere, and everyone pays the rest.

Read more about physicians asking patients to pay for their care. And maybe you’ll think about it during your next treatment. I know I will.

Speed Dating: The New Way to Shop for Health Care

Last night I was chatting with a good friend of mine who is single and dating. She’s tried it all – online, blind dates, meeting guys at work, charity events – you name it, she’s been there looking. Some end nicely, others in disaster. But next week she’s going to try something different: Speed dating.

For those of you unfamiliar, groups of men and women attend and meet for 5 to 10 minutes with one another to get a general feel for the other. I must confess, I wish her all of the happiness in the world, but can’t wait to hear about this next installment in her dating diary.

So how does this relate to health care? Well, there’s a hospital in Texas that takes this same theme – speed dating – and puts it to good use in health care. The hospital invites physicians by specialty and patients in need of specific care to an event where they “speed date” to determine if they are a good match.

Patients love it because they don’t have to schedule various appointments with numerous doctors to find the best doctor for their pregnancy, or to care for their children, or whatever other service they are seeking. Physicians looking for patients love it. And the hospital uses it as a recruiting tool. Basically, it’s a win-win for everyone.

Think about the possibilities – shopping for health care – meeting with doctors to ask about their quality standards, practices and costs… something we should all be doing more of in health care.

Want to learn more about speed dating with docs? Read more on the Bedford Hospital on the cutting edge.

New Trend Emerges in Reducing Health Care Costs

A few weeks back I visited family in New Orleans, and the massive oil spill in the Gulf came up at a family party. My uncle works for a large oil company (I won’t say who, but it’s not BP), and since he is related in the oil industry, he was bombarded with questions about causes, clean up and costs. Suddenly, he was the oil spill “expert” at the party (despite the fact that he works in an entirely unrelated department of the company).

As a health insurance company employee, I am often peppered with questions at parties and family gatherings – everyone wants to know my position on the latest health care reform legislation. As if I’m suddenly an expert!

So when I was asked questions about health care at a function I attended last night with my husband, I was armed with an interesting perspective, after reading a great article about a new trend in reducing health care costs. Not only did I find this concept innovative, but so did the other party guests.

The premise is simple: pay doctors based on good care, instead of the number of patients they see. It’s quality versus quantity. Through this system it’s believed the sickest patients will get more coordinated care and attention. Not only are health insurers behind it, but so are a good number of physicians as well.

I’ve known about Regence’s support for this concept, and that our members can access nurse managers that will help guide them to stay on treatment plans and get health coaching - but in the midst of the doom and gloom of the economic news lately, and the persistent rise of health care costs (that will never seem to go down) – I was pleased to see someone else taking the initiative, and excited that doctors were on board.

Tackling rising health care costs will only benefit all of us. Are you a trendsetter? How will you bring down health care costs?

When Free Isn't Free

About two months ago I took my six month old to the pediatrician because she is allergic to every single brand of formula we had tried (and we tried every kind on the market). No matter the brand or base, her body’s reaction was terrible.

The doctor gave me a free sample of a new special type of formula – available only online, not in retail stores. So we tried it. The results weren’t perfect (let’s be honest, no formula is perfect), but bearable for our family.

So I went online to order some and the prices made me gasp – over $200 for one case! That’s eight cans! And one can goes in less than a week. You do the math.

Sound familiar? Maybe you haven’t ordered formula, but certainly you’ve tried a new prescription sample at your doctor’s recommendation – and once you’re hooked you find out the true cost of the medication. Apparently we aren’t the only ones. Check out this post on KevinMD.com.
I’m not faulting the doctor – he solved a major problem for our family. But maybe we should understand the high costs of everything, including medications, before we order them. This time the money came out of my pocket so I found out the real cost pretty quickly, but had my insurance been billed, would I have known what that cost my health care community pot? Probably not.

With costs on medications and special treatments as high as they are, no wonder health care costs are out of control.

Share your experiences. I want to hear what you think.