Health Care Videos | What's The Real Cost

Videomaster commented on 45 Seconds to Share

Nice video

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Roslyn commented on 45 Seconds to Share

this is so TRUE - I'm still trying to get something taken care of that my provider mis-coded (lab work) and the lab still hasn't been paid. This would have been avoided if I had been able to see a simple lab order

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Google commented on 45 Seconds to Share

How can I get a copy of this video in .wmv format?

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Debbie commented on 45 Seconds to Share

I like the "good luck making sense of your version of the bill". It has gotten so complicated, I am finding that even the c/s agents at the ins. cos. don't know. I have to constantly sit on hold while they ask their supervisors. I remember when health insurance was simple and useful. Now it seems like it is about "fighting" for coverage and "proving" the need. Not something you want to be doing when you are sick.

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Brenda says: A good representation of the real world of healthcare. However you forgot to make the shopper sign 20 pages of legal mumble jumble. And there was no covered mistakes that can't be learned from or properly healed because the clerk was afraid. About time we look at the many real problems with our broken healthcare system which not addressed in the political arena.

Robert Danes commented on 45 Seconds to Share

Isee stuff like this on tv.. and still not sure what its about.... not alot of information here

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Danny Shannon commented on 45 Seconds to Share

He'd make a Good Politician ! Not a Laughing Matter !!!

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Alan Vasquez commented on 45 Seconds to Share

This website doesn't really provide much information. It seems overly fear based. I don't like! Give us some information!

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Susan at Regence says: Hope you'll visit the "Info Desk" for info and third-party links to data, also the blog, thanks!

Sherry Lassiter commented on 45 Seconds to Share

Well worth watching!

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Heidi Austad Van Doren commented on 45 Seconds to Share

Pretty interesting analogy of using shopping/consumer driven experience with health care.

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carcarzoom commented on 45 Seconds to Share

OH my gosh....this is so true! People will only make changes when we can see the direct cost to us!

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CHUSH commented on 45 Seconds to Share

YES,WE KNO...WHAT IS BEING DONE ABOUT IT1111111TELL US NOBODIES...BECUZ...THAT\'S WHAT WE ALL R EXPIERANCING....NOW...NO LEGS,NO ARMS,NO MONEY BUT WORKING...COME ON...WHAT WILL HELP.....?

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loodicris commented on 45 Seconds to Share

Whether or not a patient knows the costs of a service will not affect the actual cost charged for these services. It's irrelevant. What it WILL affect is a patient's decision on whether or not to go forward with getting a treatment/scan/Rx that has been recommended by their physician. A patient may actually DECLINE a needed service or test because they feel the cost is too expensive (out of guilt) and therefor not get treated/test they actually need. Which is EXACTLY what the shopper does in the video, her gut reaction when faced with cost is PUT BACK her food. What is so infuriating to me is that instead of trying to find ways to decrease (or spread out) outrageously inflated medical costs, providers now stoop to preying on the minds of innocent patients to disway them from accepting services they need instead of cutting profits. My two cents.

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Bruce Dean says: I think the point of the video is that there ARE choices you can make in health care that can affect how much comes out of our pocket. Example: choose an xray over an MRI, if an exray will suffice. Some docs play the MRI card off the bat, because it's "the Best". But if an xray works, it costs 1 tenth the price!

Killroy71 commented on 45 Seconds to Share

Went to the dentist recently and he said I needed a crown replaced and some other stuff. His office generously offered to get an estimate and how much my insurance would cover. Am I just overly suspicious that his estimate came in just under my annual $2000 allotment of coverage?

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notadoctor says: Perhaps you should be grateful - maybe he is giving you a break, knowing you won't want to pay out of pocket. If you're so worried about it, go get a 2nd opinion. Don't make the doctors/dentists the bad guys here - the vast majority of them are in it to help people, not screw them over. This isn't used-car sales here.

notsoblondeme commented on 45 Seconds to Share

wow. It totally does remind me of some doctor's offices where the staff don't even know the prices either. You have to call a separate billing department to find out prices. Which has prevented me from seeing a few doctor's...I think being educated on our options, on the fact that we CAN ask questions and should Definitely expect helpful answers rather than " I don't know" is a wondeful piece of knowledge

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educateyourself says: i work at a doctors office. and its not our fault we don\\\'t know the costs!!!! it\\\'s the insurance companies that dictate how much will be covered. get up off your fat but and check your benefits yourself instead of making someone else do it! i mean wow! people know more about their car insurance than they do their own health insurance! shame

Just Wondering says: Health Insurance is does help dictate lower costs for the members, but without a pricing guide to go by on what the average cost is then even the health insurance company is kept guessing. Why is not your fault that you guys don\'t know an average price, I am not saying that all doctors office are unaware of pricing but a majority are. I just want an idea of what the cost is not a to the cent cost but most doctor office\'s can\'t even give you that. Why? I know my benefits but without prices knowing that is not super informative.

happygolucky says: educate yourself... you spelled butt wrong, just fyi. if you mistake a common word like that, there's no telling what you mess up on when it comes to health care costs. and for insurance companies dictating how much of a service will be covered.....we do have an allowed amount. that amount is negotiated between providers and insurance companies. we don't want our customers paying an incredible amout for a service, and that's why this allowed amount it established. and benefits, they can sometimes be very hard to understand. companies like regence, who put in every effort to satisfy their member, make it that much easier for them to understand their benefits. be a little more curtious. i'm sure there are benefits in your plan that you're not 100% sure about.

carcarzoom says: A HUGE help in reducing costs is to get rid of frivilous lawsuits! Obama made sure the "trial lawyers" were protected and did not include any time of legal reform in the law that was passed.

tennislady says: I do belive that if the patient is involved with the costs the costs will be less. Example MRIs are now used often when an xray would do. Because many doctors offices have MRI equipment and make profits when the tests are done.

Marc commented on 45 Seconds to Share

This is the kind of talk we need, so people can understand the issues we're facing. Just remember, Regence may point out the issue, but it’s still bound by it. If your benefits are covered at 100% of the allowed/contracted amount, and you see a network provider, you might never run into trouble. But what happens if your benefits are at 80% of the allowed amount, or if you see a non-network doctor who isn't bound by contracted rates? Imagine that you call your insurance to ask how much it will cost you to see Dr. Smith, a network doctor, for a routine visit. You have the price the doctor will charge, and the procedure and diagnosis codes. Ask what the allowed amounts are, and see if you get a concrete number. Ask for a non-network provider, or an out of state provider, and it gets harder. Your coverage might be a percentage of a number that no one can give you until your claims process. This is an industry-wide problem, and your insurance may be an unintentional roadblock. (1/3)

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Marc Watson says: Envision these scenarios: You see an in network doctor who charges $1000 for a service. The allowed amount is $500, and your benefits are at 80% of the allowed amount. You pay $100, the insurance pays $400, and the provider writes off $500. You see an out of network doctor who charges $1000 for a service. The allowed amount is $500, and your benefits are at 80% of the allowed amount, so you pay $100, the insurance pays $400, then you pay $500 more. Imagine you’re taking a math test, and the two situations above are included. Except, the variable X will be substituted for the allowed amount, and X will equal any number at all (though likely between $1 and $1000). You also don’t get to know the actual value of X until after the test is corrected, even though you studied, and did all of your homework. (2/3)

Marc Watson says: Allowed amounts are a fair practice, because contracts allow the insurance to drive business to the doctor, while keeping their payments (and your premiums! ) low. But if the system doesn't have a greater degree of transparency, how can you be a good shopper? What if that allowed amount in the second example was not $500, but $900? Whew! You're good when that explanation of benefits (EOB) comes in. But what if the allowed amount was $100? $920 bill for you; and you had 80% coverage, right? Regence is starting a good conversation, but the ironic thing is that the above examples highlight how people really don't, and currently can’t, know What The Real Cost Is. It’s a bit like BP creating a website about the growing problems of oil spills by the oil industry: it’s meaningful dialogue, and a step in the right direction, but calling for change, while pointing out your own practices seems like a hard position to maintain. (3/3)

Coolness commented on 45 Seconds to Share

It is so unbelieveable how true this is. Our system needs fixed! Have you noticed that MyRegence.com has a treatment cost estimator! How Rockin'!

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Anonymous commented on 45 Seconds to Share

Hah! I love it

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Katie Rafael commented on 45 Seconds to Share

This would be like buying a car and then getting a bill from the tire manufacture, the engine company, and the paint plant . . . etc. just imagine!

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Laura Marshall says: Yeah- just imagine!

Edward Stevenson says: This is a great short film. you nailed the description katie!

Laura Marshall commented on 45 Seconds to Share

hahah I just had an experience like this after a dentist appointment. I had to pay so much more than was "quoted" to me on their estimate. I wouldn't have had all the work done if I knew how much it was going to cost. It would be nice to know the real cost of things!

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