Keep Your Dollars in Your Pocket: Bargain With Your Doctor

A recent WebMD article was listing ways to save money on your healthcare. The timing on this is excellent, since this has been our main discussion topic for several posts. The suggestion was given to bargain with your doctor. This is a topic I typically have on my list of suggestions also. When is this appropriate and how do you accomplish it? If you are going to be paying the entire cost of your visit, procedure or test, this is prime time to ask for a discount. The physician’s office will usually ask about your insurance as they are scheduling your first appointment. I recommend taking a very proactive and positive response to this question. Rather than just stating that you do not have insurance, tell them you will be paying cash. Explain your situation. WebMD suggests saying “You’re not in my network, but I wouldn’t trust anyone else to handle this. Is there any way you can adjust your fee for me?” You just might be surprised at what you hear. If you approach it carefully, develop a positive relationship with the physician and the staff, there is a high chance you will have a positive outcome. The physician (and hospitals or surgery centers) can adjust their fee for you and still come out with a larger payment than if you did have insurance (usually). If they believe that you will pay, it is more likely they will be willing to discuss it. It is fairly routine for a health provider to give a 20% discount. Most can go less than that and still make a nice profit. When they negotiate with an insurance company, there are steep discounts plus the member’s co-pay of only 20-30 dollars. So now you know that you have some room for negotiation but don’t try to force a steeper discount or you may get none. Remember, a good relationship with the health care provider is your best negotiating tool.

One last reminder. If you are negotiating with a facility (hospital, surgery center) do not pay your bill up front. You can save more money by examining the detailed bill. There are companies or people that can help you with that task. I can hook you up, give me a call. alice@EZHealthCareOnline.com www.EZHealthCareOnline.com

Maintain Care Information Flow

Let's talk about coordination of care. In the last post, I mentioned how your primary care physician (PCP) is the one who serves as the central point of coordination for your care. He/she should have any information from specialist visits and from any testing that may have been ordered by another doctor. You have a role in maintaining this flow of information. One opportunity for this occurs when you have a test such as a CT scan or a x-ray ordered by another physician. The ordering physician is the one who will receive the report findings of the test. At the time you are providing your history and giving consent for the ordered procedure, there will be a place on the forms asking if the test results should be sent to any other physicians. This is your opportunity and responsibility to facilitate the flow of information to your PCP. Always add your PCP to this list of recipients assuring that not only the specialist will get the results but also to your central point of coordination. By doing this consistently, your doctor has the ability and information to adequately identify any patterns that may need to be addressed.

Your consciousness of this is more important now than ever in the past. Most insurance plans today do not require a referral from a PCP for a specialist visit. All you need to do is make an appointment. If the specialist does not include your PCP with the findings of the examination and any tests, your PCP may never know of the specialist visit. There will be a gap in information and potentially in care. Ask the specialist to send a copy of the assessment and findings to your PCP. You may want to ask for a copy also. The days of the patient not being knowledgeable of the doctor's records are gone. You can then make sure your PCP does indeed have copies of your information.

Another area that needs your action to assure information flow is with your preventive care tests. An example is a mammogram. There is often no need for a physician referral for a yearly screening mammogram. If you do not identify the physicians to receive a report, your PCP may never know you had it done. Consider this aspect of your coordination of care any time you have a health care experience. You can always check with alice@ezhealthcareonline.com if you need assistance with any aspect of care flow.

Health Insurance Application

Hi everyone. It is time to get this blog up and going again. The first thing I want to tell you about is completing a health insurance application. If you are applying for coverage, most likely, you will need to provide a health history. It is of utmost importance that you include absolutely everything. They will likely ask for a complete history for the past 3 years, maybe 5 years. Include all medications, Dr. visits and any health conditions or injuries. It is very difficult to remember every little thing, but that is what you will need to do. If you don't include everything, and it surfaces at a later time, it could result in non-coverage or even rescinding your policy for non-disclosure.

No one wants that to happen, but that is how it works. My suggestion to you is to start a list now. Do this even if you don't think you will not need it. Going to a new physician, you will need to answer these type requests. Start your list now and every time something changes, update your list. Make a list of any medications you are taking or have taken in the past five years. Include even an antibiotic or sinus pill. Add the reason for taking each and the approximate dates. Do the same thing with any illnesses you may have or have had and any visits to a doctor.

Being proactive in keeping a personal health record now, will save you time and accuracy in the future. This gives you time to account for everything. As you remember something, add it to your log. Do this, and you will be prepared for the next time you are required to submit health information. You will find examples of blank logs on my web site: www.EZHealthCareOnline.com

Simplify Your Doctor Visits, Part 2

As I stated in the previous post, I will give you some helpful steps to ensure adequate information exchange. I'm sure you all have experienced this scenario: You schedule an appointment, You then must wait in the waiting room, many times longer than you think is necessary, filling out endless forms, only to finally get in and spend about 3 minutes with the doctor...you had questions but with the rush, you could't remember what to ask. I am going to tell you the same thing as in the previous post: Write it down!!! You must obtain adequate information in order to manage your healthcare! In today's world, you need to educate yourself about your healthcare, be involved and take charge.

Write it down:
In addition to your questions also document your health history, it will help you in establishing a baseline for your new doctor. Below are suggested items to include in your list of questions:

1. Document all your health conditions, when that condition developed and ended (if applicable), what type of treatment you have received and whether it is ongoing. This is a critical step to go with the medication list.
2. Create a list to take with you to the doctor visit; write down all your questions, concerns, etc. In a subsequent post I will list several items that are critical to know in order to to adequately manage your healthcare.
3. Take the list with you to the appointment (make a copy before you come).
4. Depending on your condition, etc. may determine how to get your questions answered. If there are only a few questions, you may be able to ask them while you are with the doctor.
5. Usually, your best action it to tell the nurse that brought you in that you have several questions for the doctor.
6. Many times you can give the nurse the list and they will present it to the doctor prior to entering the room. This gives the doctor enough time to realize that he/she will need to spend a little more time. Additionally, they may be able to answer some of them prior to entering the exam room.
7. You can use the information provided to search the internet for additional info.
8. Keep up with that list of questions and answers so you can compare over time...at some point you may need to refer to it.

Eight steps to an efficient doctor's appointment. Of course, this would also be applicable for other types of healthcare professionals, for example Physical therapy, chiropractor, any of your specialists.

Once again, I have placed a template on my web site for your reference. www.ezhealthcareonline.com

I hope this helps you in some way. I know it has definitely helped me! Thanks for your time.

Alice

11 Steps to a Productive Doctor Visit

Well, I'm back. Today I am going to tell you some secrets that will help your Doctor visits be more productive. Every time you go to your Doctor, it is usually difficult to get the exchange of adequate information you want or need in order to manage your health at optimum...has that happened to you? I know I have experienced this. I recently changed insurance plans due to a new employer, so I was forced to select different physicians since some of my previous doctors are not in the new plan. This was very troublesome for me since I have had the same Primary Care Physician for 28 years. During the first visit and periodically from there, they will ask for an update on your health information. I found myself repeating my health information multiple times...and if you are taking several medications it is vital that you inform them of all your medications. Can you remember all the specifics regarding each of your medications? I seem to always forget part of it if I am going from memory.

Here is my solution to both issues: Write it Down and keep it updated. Easy, right? Well, it does take some time on the front end, but saves you time on the backend. Let's start with your medication list...if your doctor is not completely informed about your current medications and your allergies, he could easily prescribe something that is not compatible with one or more current medications.

1. Gather every medication you have, even any over the counter meds such as Advil, Prilosec, sinus pills, etc)
2. Also count any herbal supplements.
3. Sort them based on the reason you are taking them...if you are going to include meds you are not currently taking, be sure to note that.
4. Write down all the information for each medication.
5. Name of Drug - common name and generic name if applicable.
6. Dosage of Drug - for example: 20 mg or 50mg.
7. The route taken - by mouth or injection (for example: Insulin, injected)
8. Reason you are taking this medication...this is very important!
9. When was it first initiated?
10. Include the ones that you just take periodically as needed, but be sure and state that on your record.
11. Record all your allergies...even if it is just hay fever.

There you go. Eleven Steps to a Productive Doctor Visit, Part 1. I will place a log on my site that you can retrieve if you want to use it. That site is www.ezhealthcareonline.com

The next post will deal with communication with your doctor...be sure and tune in!

Alice