Did you know that 60% of personal bankruptcies in America are due to medical costs? Before the executive order passed last month, hospitals were not required to release the information of cost of services before treatment. In fact, according to a survey from NORC at the University of Chicago, 57% of Americans have had a surprise medical bill. Despite this fact, the debate around health care has largely revolved around the right to health care coverage, not the right to know health care costs. However, with the White House’s executive order signed June 24, 2019, the price and quality of health care have become the focal point of the conversation.
Direct Med Clinic cares about our patients and your right to information. Now, it seems government policy is finally catching up. The purpose of the executive order is to allow patients to make fully informed decisions about their healthcare that would enhance the ability of patients to choose the healthcare that is best for them. Without options to select health care based on price and care, there is less competition within the health care marketplace, since regulations and other practices interfere with your right as a consumer to choose your health care.
In order to make the best-informed decision, patients must have the right to know the price and quality of the care they are receiving in advance. Considering that patients have never previously had such public access to the prices of goods received in the health care marketplace without having a third-party involved, including insurance, large hospital systems and Government, (in which case, the price significantly depends on which third-party is involved), this is a win for Direct Primary Care towards transparency in American Healthcare.
The executive order will help to lower rising health care costs by allowing patients to see prices, which will encourage more Americans to buy the health care that is most suitable to them. The ability to “shop around” means your overall costs of healthcare will go down as you will be able to compare prices of health care having the ability to research prices and care beforehand.
Another purpose of the executive order is to prevent balance billing or “surprise billing,” a highly inflated and unexpected bill a patient receives when accepting care outside of the patient’s insurer network without prior knowledge. Under the new executive order, before incurring expenses, patients in hospital will have access to the price of the services they receive at the time of scheduling an appointment. The current Administration hopes that with this policy, more Americans will take control of their own health care, become protected patients and the health care market will increase its competition.
Providing patients with information about actual prices is key to this executive order and a win for Direct Primary Care. In order to help patients’ decision making and to create transparency, new regulations will now require hospitals to publicly post standard charge information.
This is where Direct Primary Care has been ahead of the game. Direct Med Clinic has always known and cared about how important transparency is for our patients. Transparency adds value to American health care and promotes competition as the buyer and seller agree on a fully disclosed mutually beneficial price for care. The ability to compare prices across clinics and hospitals by receiving newly updated information about standard charges and services or supplies means that you become in control of your health care again. See how easy it is to manage your health care with an affordable membership with Direct Med Clinic today.
Rice T, Rosenau P, Unruh LY, Barnes AJ, Saltman RB, van Ginneken E. United States of America: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2013; 15(3): 1– 43
Young, Eric. “New Survey Reveals 57% of Americans Have Been Surprised by a Medical Bill.” NORC at the University of Chicago, 30 Aug. 2018, www.norc.org/NewsEventsPublications/PressReleases/Pages/new-survey-reveals-57-percent-of-americans-have-been-surprised-by-a-medical-bill.aspx.
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