Three Ways Employers are Advocating for Affordability

Is there any rhyme or reason as to what hospitals charge for a given service? To the average consumer, it seems as if there isn’t. When billing is opaque, patients are more likely to avoid seeking care altogether– which can end with high costs for insurance companies, those who are insured, and the companies facilitating coverage.

Employers are increasingly unable to sustain these rising costs and they are advocating for more affordable care. According to a Bloomberg Law article published in August, “hospital spending made up the largest share of national health expenditures at $1.3 trillion in 2020, and employers paid much of the nearly $409 billion of that spent by private insurers.”.[1]

Healthcare affordability matters both for companies’ bottom lines and for employees' personal well-being. And the quality of care, on the whole, is crucial for employee health and retention. There are several approaches for creating and sustaining what we call a cost transparency ecosystem, which supports clearly-priced, high-quality healthcare services for all patients.

One tactic is to push for legislation that advocates more transparency in pricing– especially in Medicare versus employer prices at hospitals and healthcare systems. According to the National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL), transparent pricing in the healthcare industry– and providing the option for patients to pay upfront– may mitigate rising patient costs.[2]

A second approach employers can offer is providing affordable care options that meet patients at their point of need. When preventive care and routine screenings require additional planning, appointments, and time off work in addition to uncertain costs, it can be easy to put off such things indefinitely. But when care is accessible, affordable, and aligned with employee schedules, people are more likely to tend to their health proactively, reducing costs over the long term by mitigating potentially costly (and serious) advanced-stage illnesses.

A third option for employers looking to support transparency in healthcare pricing is to look for opportunities to bundle services in order to lower costs. According to HealthCare.gov, the process of bundling care costs can pull related procedures and treatments together for a single charge rather than billing each item individually. When providers are able to offer bundled services, patients can often better plan for costs and pursue comprehensive care.

MDsave is the nation’s leading online medical service marketplace connecting providers, employers, and consumers to affordable and accessible healthcare. Through innovative technology, MDsave simplifies the healthcare billing process for patients and providers through bundled pricing, upfront patient payment, and automated ancillary provider payment disbursement after the procedure or service.

When care is transparently-priced, affordability is closely within reach. It’s a win for providers, who can count on timely payment; a win for patients, who can more strategically plan for healthcare costs; and a win for employers, who will save money in the long run as their plan participants participate proactively. The transparency ecosystem creates an opportunity for everyone involved to win.

To learn more about how MDsave supports a cost-transparency ecosystem in healthcare, read our recent white paper, The Transparency Ecosystem: Creating a Cost-Effective Healthcare Ecosystem for Patients, Employers, and Providers.

[1]https://news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-and-business/tensions-between-employers-hospitals-up-with-transparency-push[2] https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/transparency-and-disclosure-health-costs.aspx