A Few Insights on Being a Patient

Healing Paws

I had my second surgery last Monday  on my left ankle and spent the night at Abbott Hospital.  One of the things I noticed about being a patient was the fancy new paper gowns they have in pre-op that pumps warm air inside a paper balloon to keep your body warm, who would of thought - ”high tech disposable hospital gowns.”  By the way they still open in the back, I wonder what that cost me?  Since I have a high deductable medical plan I tend to be cautious about the plan of treatment and anything the doc orders because I pay for most of it.

Did you know it’s not easy to get a quote on the cost of care and procedures ahead of time, or at least some parts of the health care system seemed hesitant or unable to give me a quote on cost of surgery.  My physcians office (Twin Cities Orthopedics)  did the best job by calling me ahead of time, gave me the estimated cost of the surgeons time and offered me a 10% discount if I was willing to make a credit card payment.  The representative was professional, organized, confidently answered my questions and immediately sent me a receipt by email and US mail; to be honest I was impressed. 

That same day I received a call from Abbott Hospital to pre-register; I was asked if I wanted to help myself out by making a payment ahead of time.  I asked what the cost would be and the representative told me she didn’t know so I asked if the hospital was offering me a discount for a payment up front and she said “no, she couldn’t do that.”  I asked her what the benefit to me was to make a payment up front and she began to tell me about how lots of patients don’t pay and how the hospital has to try to collect…  I stopped her to say I was just looking for the benefit to me that she mentioned.  I asked again if she could give me an estimate or rough ball park quote and whether she would consider a discount if I made a payment, she said she could give me a number for the business office if I wanted to call and ask them about a discount.  I told her about my experience earlier in the day with the physicians office and how that they gave me a quote and a discount if I payed early, she said she understood.

I eventually found a phone number that I could call at Abbott Hospital that gives you quotes and I spent a lot of time on the phone with a representative that seemed like she wanted to help me but it felt  like the system used by the hospital makes it difficult, she did her best.  At least she was helpful about reviewing simialr examples and items that impact the cost especially the “contracted rate” agreed to between my medical insurance company and the health care providers. 

I have a few more stories to tell from the patients Eye View but at least for this posting my key insight is that since more people are having to pay out of pocket or at least like me have high deductibles it would be helpful if health care providers could “quickly” respond to a patients Request for Quote.  Now that I pay for my care out of pocket I “pay attention” to the total cost of care and I don’t agree to everything the physician orders or at least we have a conversation about it.  My key need is getting a quick quote quote so I know what or when to proceed with my medical care because in reality many people have to carefully choose what health care procedures they can afford.

Perhaps this is a “shame on me” for not being as diligent when my past employers and insurance companies had the majority of the fiscal responsibility so this has taught me that we are all responsible for questioning medical orders and the cost of care decisions no matter who is the primary payor. 

As patients we need to be responsible team members in reviewing cost of care.

Mary