Pilot Program Details Cost Before Treatment
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee developed a pilot program for patients who participate in consumer-directed health plans that provides patients with the cost for tests and procedures before those are completed, as reported in the Chattanooga Times.
The program links to the insurer’s billing program used in the doctor’s office, accessing the data takes less than ten seconds. Office staff members can then tell patients the out of pocket costs for the planned procedure.
The pilot program will be launched in Tennessee and some additional sites in Northern Georgia. BlueCross BlueShield intends to expand the program in the near future.
A similar effort being developed by Cigna is underway, called Health-e-Pass. The program is being unveiled in different regions of the county, with a pilot program to include over half a million of the insurer’s members.
The programs have been likened to a retail shopping experience, where patients are fully aware of the costs they are required to pay for a given procedure. This may help patients better plan for the expenses associated with their own healthcare, though it does not provide them with a complete picture of all costs for care. Such efforts, for example, don’t tell patients how much their insurer pays for various tests and procedures.
While this may not help control overall costs for healthcare, it may modify patient’s attitudes about obtaining care. This can help reformulate sensibility and modify patient attitudes, applying a sense of consumerism and marketing savvy to healthcare choices.
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