Shopping and negotiation can stem increasing health care costs

Health care costs can be expected to rise as reliably as the sun does each and every morning. A better price on anything could be found. All it takes is the time required for just a little research. With more out-of-pocket costs for health care these days, purchasing for doctors and hospitals makes more sense than ever.

You don't have to pay the high health care costs

When somebody goes to a doctor or hospital, the cost of health care getting used isn't discussed. As outlined by the newest York Times, that isn't the case anymore. It has changed. According to the Center for Studying Health System Change, 15 percent of people younger than 65 are spending more than 5 percent of their annual income on health care costs. Many are searching for better prices instead of just paying out-of-pocket all that money.

The hard part is figuring out the costs of health care

At Angie's List, Michael Schroeder explained experts get confused about health care costs also. Health care providers and insurance companies are in a battle in which doctors and hospitals make an effort to mark prices up and insurers try to mark prices down. The Medicare reimbursement standards are what insurance companies will rely on. But a health care provider told Schroeder that it bills at an even higher rate than Medicare to reap maximum profit. Insurance companies will dicker the cost down, but uninsured patients don’t enjoy that support.

How to negotiate a better price

Trying to find a doctor or hospital that best fits your preferences isn't that hard. The web is very helpful with this. A search engine will help you one of the most, the Los Angeles Times explains. "Cost of a colonoscopy" was what Kathy Kristof of the Times typed into Google. About 200,000 matches came up. Sites that showed up included PriceDoc.com, MyMedicalCosts.com and HealthCareBlueBook.com. Having this details is really helpful when it comes to trying to negotiate. You are able to get a better deal if you know the facts about your procedure and its costs.

Citations

New York Times

nytimes.com/2009/11/28/health/28patient.html?_r=1&ref=health

Angie’s List

angieslist.com/angieslist/visitor/recentbuzz.aspx

Los Angeles Times

latimes.com/health/healthcare/la-fi-perfin-20101024,0,4751926.column