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by MJR
4573 days ago
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These are called cost and quality or transparency tools in the industry. Many insurance companies have tools that can do this exact thing for their members AND apply it to your specific plan at the time of the inquiry. So you can choose based on the procedure cost and your actual cost based on your deductible and co-insurance. Not only that, the tools will also tell you about quality so you can compare based on the quality of service, cost of service and your actual cost at the same time. Unless you can do all of these things at the same time with your tool, it leaves out critical factors for those actually searching for this type of information as it applies to them at any given time - most importantly when they are trying to make a decision. Additionally, you only have access to negotiated rates for Medicare whereas an insurance company providing this information is going to provide as much information as they can for all of their members by displaying their negotiated rates specific to your plan. As an HN reader, if you like this tool, go check with your insurance company and see what they already have and how specific it is for you. |
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This is important. Contracted network discounts may not align with Medicare reimbursement rates for providers so if you have insurance through a network you should look for a tool that can compare in-network rates for your plan as MJR suggests.