Why Health Care Costs Are So Hard To Find (But With Cat Gifs)

Ever wondered why it was so hard to find health care costs in the U.S.? We'll explain why price transparency is so challenging in health care... but you know, with cat gifs.

Save On Medical / Via saveonmedical.com

Have you ever tried to find out how much a medical procedure was going to cost before your appointment? If you have; then you know it’s darn near impossible. Price transparency has improved in recent years but the struggle to find clear health costs is still so very real. Even trying to find costs can make you feel like this:

Giphy / Via giphy.com

Let’s take a look at what makes this process so complicated and challenging:

Hospitals don’t want to give you the prices of their procedures if they know they are too expensive.

Giphy / Via giphy.com

The prices for a procedure or an appointment can vary up to 75% from one location to another, even if they seem like comparable providers. So, you end up going in blind, not knowing how much you could have saved.

Giphy / Via giphy.com

Insurance companies don’t always know what your costs will come out to be because they have different negotiated rates with different providers.

Giphy / Via giphy.com

Since there’s a lot that goes into finally sniffing out what the patient’s cost responsibility will be in the end, insurance companies often don’t bother.

For procedures like MRIs; your prescription might require contrast, which some providers charge extra for after your appointment. This can leave you looking at your final bill like…

Giphy / Via giphy.com

The whole I’m-probably-never-going-to-hit-that-high-deductible-so-why-not-just-pay-for-it-out-of-pocket- debate you’re having with yourself can be exhausting.

Giphy / Via giphy.com

Your appointment often won’t cover just ONE thing either, when it comes to health care you’re going to likely be paying one bundled payment encompassing all the services you received from that provider.

Giphy / Via giphy.com

(Get it, bundled? Okay, this one was a stretch.)

It it can be nearly impossible to get ahold of the right person to even talk to about your procedure’s price.

Giphy / Via giphy.com

A lot of resources only give patients price estimates rather than real prices, so patients have to search high and low to find true costs online.

Giphy / Via giphy.com

Don't worry, we've got you covered so you can find true health care costs.

You can’t make a decision about health care based solely on price because quality plays a huge role in the decision-making process, so providers are afraid you won’t be comparing apples to apples.

Giphy / Via giphy.com

Doctors are naturally afraid to step out of the box and they don’t see their peers all adopting price transparency yet, so they just keep following that pack.

Giphy / Via giphy.com

All this has started to change though and price transparency has gone from being a far off dream, to a reality across the country. Take it from Motivational Speaker Cat, together we can make it easier to find health care costs.

Giphy / Via giphy.com

Original Post on SaveOnMedical.com - Why Health Care Costs Are So Hard To Find