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Most Americans think their biggest lifetime purchase will be there their home. But, a growing number of patients are facing medical bills twice as expensive as their home. Price transparency is an idea that is catching on around the country, yet has taken hold in Oklahoma already for several years. Learn which hospitals, doctors, and providers are earning high marks for quality while providing transparent, fair prices to patients. Those with a keen eye will notice that most of the providers in this list are also KPPFree (formerly known as KPPFree) too!
Jay Kempton, president & CEO of The Kempton Group has been described as "the personification of a disruptive force in the self-funded world." In The ShiftShapers Podcast Series, Episode 65, Jay talks about everything from what buying a truck would be like if we applied today's insurance purchasing rules to why Health Savings Accounts do not represent a real long-term solution.
A switch in health care saves Oklahoma County hundreds of thousands of dollars and could be millions by the end of the year, but those on the other end of the switch claim there's more than meets the eye.
Charts show patients cost savings on a variety of surgeries. Each one with a difference of several thousands of dollars.
The reason? A switch to self-funded healthcare coverage.
Oklahoma has the opportunity to save state employees and state taxpayers money while ensuring high-quality health care, by embracing health insurance reforms implemented by Oklahoma County for state employees.
This document, created by the Society of Professional Benefit Administrators (SPBA), compares myths and facts when it comes to self-funding.
Beginning in 2017, states have the option of allowing large employers (i.e., more than 100 employees) to purchase a fully insured health plan through public insurance exchanges. H that happens, fully insured large group coverage sold through the exchanges must include the 10 essential health benefits (EHBs) and comply with other standards that now apply only to the individual and small-group market plans.
This article, published in the Journal of Free Standing Emergency Medicine, outlines the concept of Transparency and Free Market Healthcare in the face of the Affordable Care Act.
SCN provider members gain access to more surgical cases, Kempton Group clients receive high-quality, low-cost, transparent care
"If you can't beat them, join them." This nugget of 1930s political wisdom of indeterminate origin is no less true in a wide variety of situations than it was nearly 80 years ago. While it may be the only option for hospitals faced with growing demands for price transparency, the problem is this: knowing who to beat and where to join isn't so clear. At this point, however, it's looking like hospitals may be out of options.
This article is a bombshell. It is one thing for me to write on this blog that I think the healthcare price transparency movement is growing and unstoppable. It is another thing for a representative of the big hospitals to say that those who don't embrace price transparency may go out of business! OK. Now you are going back to click on the link aren't you?!
This is quite an admission and something for everyone to celebrate. It also shows, I think that this is happening without legislators forcing the issue, a move that will likely only screw things up.
G. Keith Smith, M.D.
Dr. Keith Smith discusses how his early experiences with mentoring surgeons who utilized fair and transparent health care practices are showing that the modern day transparency movement cannot happen fast enough.
When Ira Horner, 62, found out how much his knee surgery for a torn meniscus was expected to cost, he worried that he would spend the rest of his life in debt.
A floor associate at Hutchinson Oil, in Woodward, Okla., Horner had health insurance through his employer, but it was unclear as to what he would ultimately be expected to pay.
After talking to friends and nurses at the medical center where he was being treated, Horner estimated the surgery would cost at least $16,000, and he'd end up paying about 20 percent of that plus his $1,000 deductible.
Pulitzer-winner Tina Rosenberg of The New York Times profiles the Surgery Center of Oklahoma and delves into their unique approach with regards to price transparency.
It is well documented that high deductible health plans (HDHP) are rapidly growing (see here, here, here, and here). It is indisputable that HDHPs have an effect on consumer behavior (not all positive... improperly designed HDHPs result in lower use of preventive screenings). Personally, I have gone from a Cadillac health plan where I paid nothing (literally) to a $10,000 deductible for my family. Let me give you an example. One of my kids needed to have their adenoids removed. Before, we would have blithely gotten the procedure done oblivious to the costs. Instead, I tried mightily to get a price ahead of time so I could negotiate a cash price. Only the surgeon was willing to give me a price for his services. I paid him out of my HSA prior to the surgery and we both came out ahead. Unfortunately, the hospital was unwilling to give me this information. The final bill was close to $10,000. In contrast, the Surgery Center of Oklahoma would have charged $2,695 for the entire procedure.
Health insurers are privately warning brokers that premiums for many individuals and small businesses could increase sharply next year because of the health-care overhaul law, with the nation's biggest firm projecting that rates could more than double for some consumers buying their own plans.
Hip replacement can cost $10,000 - or $125,000, depending on the hospital, study finds