As “consumerism” is taking an increasing role in controlling healthcare costs, Consumer Reports will publish a story in its October issue detailing strategies consumers can use to haggle for lower prices with doctors and hospitals.
"The last thing most patients want to do is haggle with their doctors, but a little bit of negotiating can go a long way,” said John Santa, MD, MPH, director of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center in a press release. “It's also important to know that there are tremendous variations in healthcare costs – knowing this can help a consumer get a hand up and politely insist on the fairest possible price."
Being prepared to negotiate price is increasingly important in the face of rising healthcare costs. According to Consumer Reports Index, a gauge of the health of the U.S. economy, more than 16 percent of Americans are not able to afford their healthcare bills.
"Americans are overwhelmed by health costs and many people simply can't pay their bills, can't afford their medications," Santa noted.
Advice from the report breaks down the opportunities for consumers to negotiate healthcare prices into three different scenarios:
You're healthy. The best time for patients to talk with their healthcare providers about costs is before any have been incurred. While doctors have a professional obligation to take a patient's financial resources into account, patients should raise the issue with their doctors to let them know that costs are important to them. "For a variety of reasons, doctors are likely to suggest the most expensive options first. But you might be surprised by your doctor's willingness to change course, for example prescribing fewer expensive brand name drugs or choosing watchful waiting over a costly diagnostic test," said Santa.
Unexpected illness or injury. A patient ends up needing hospitalization for an illness or injury and discovers their insurance company will only pay a small fraction of the total costs. Consumer Reports suggest consumers use two potential tacks in this situation to achieve maximum costs savings:
- It urges consumers to meet with the doctor who ordered or performed the hospital services to find out how the hospital costs ran so high, including asking whether all the services were needed and reasonably priced. Consumers can judge for themselves by checking www.healthcarebluebook.com, which lists the going rates for many medical services for free. Closely examine each bill to identify errors, which are common.
- Consumers should not assume the price on their bill is set in stone. Providers often discount rates substantially to insurers and others. If this is the case the report urges consumers ask for the same rate reduction. It also notes that consumers should dispute any charges they think their insurance company ought to cover.
The story also instructs people not to pay their hospital bill until they have exhausted all possible options for lowering their bill. They could also consider making a discounted offer to pay to the hospital over a period of time, or turn to one of the many services that help consumers negotiate lower rates with providers such as INSNET or Medical Cost Advocate.
Elective surgery. This situation provides perhaps the most opportunity for a consumer to control their healthcare costs and allows for adequate research for the best procedure, doctor, medication or other treatment options. "Use your time wisely to do the research because variations in healthcare costs can be significant, and providers will gladly let you overpay for a service that you could get for less," Santa added.
To make the best price and care decisions in this situation, the report said people should shop around, talk to different providers and actively bargain for what they think is a fair price. This includes asking up front for the final price of the treatment, including an itemized list of all potential charges.
Finally, people need to be aware, even in healthcare, of an offer or price that sounds too good to be true. If a provider suggests a shortcut, people should be wary and do additional research to determine if the price and treatment are appropriate.