How Win-Win Works in Healthcare

In today’s world, even the mention of healthcare can open up a can of worms, from political debates and realities of insurance premiums and medical care becoming more than the cost of housing. A recent Gallup poll found 79% of Americans are dissatisfied with the total cost of healthcare in the U.S. and 29% of households have put off medical treatment because of that cost.

Is there a solution to healthcare that can be a win for both patients and doctors—where everyone benefits?

The short answer is yes. The longer answer looks at how transparent service costs and competitive pricing are good for everyone.

What if you knew how much a procedure was going to be before you had it?

If you’ve spent any time in a hospital, you know what it’s like to get a bill long after service is complete. Your insurance—if you have insurance—has already decided how much it’s going to pay, and that moment when you open the envelope to see just how much it’s going to cost you can be terrifying.

What if you could know—before you ever step foot in the doctor’s office—what the actual costs were going to be? No surprises. No unexpected fees. New technologies are making that possible, and by making the process more efficient, healthcare actually becomes more affordable.

Why would doctors offer transparent services?

Here’s the thing: When doctors know how much they’re going to make from a service upfront, when they can count on getting paid in a timely manner, that helps them just as much as it helps you, the patient. It doesn’t only give you predictability so you know if you can afford treatment. It reduces a huge amount of administrative costs to doctors.

That’s because there are additional costs that go into a hospital or physician getting paid, things like:

• The time it takes to tally up the fees that go into your bill

• Whether or not your insurance is going to cover everything

• How long it takes for your insurance company to actually hand over the money

• The added time and effort their staff has to put into collecting payment if a patient doesn’t pay in a timely manner

Transparent pricing paid upfront takes a lot of these pieces out of the equation.

Why would a doctor provide me with competitive pricing?

Not only do doctors want you to have better access to affordable healthcare, competitive pricing actually helps them, too. It’s more than just finding out what you’re going to pay upfront. With competitive pricing, you can shop around to find the lowest cost. And by paying for the procedure in advance, out of pocket, you can actually go out of network, too.

Competitive pricing means more choices for you to be seen by the doctor you want, and a chance for hospitals to find new patients who might have not considered them before because of their insurance restrictions.

Find out if your local hospitals offer upfront pricing.

Want to see who offers bundled, transparent pricing in your area? Use our provider search now to see how you can better predict your cost for care and start saving on your family’s procedures with MDsave.