SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Only 1 in 5 people know how much they are paying for medical procedures before they have them — something experts say could cost you more money if you don't check before you sign on the dotted line.
Getting a medical procedure done can get costly. Americans pay a little more than $1,600 a year out of pocket for medical costs.
That's why experts say it's important to ask questions before going in for a procedure to find out what your insurance pays for.
If you are having surgery, experts suggest contacting the surgeon's billing department and asking for the procedure code, or CPT. Next, call your insurance company and ask for an estimated patient responsibility. That way you have an idea of what's covered and what's not.
Another option is to go directly to your hospital's billing department. Under federal law, U.S. hospitals and insurance companies have to be transparent when it comes to patient costs.
Chris Severn worked in the healthcare industry. His experience in the field led him to help create Turquoise Health with his co-founder. Turquoise Health is a healthcare pricing and payment website that allows the public to shop around and compare prices for services.
"You need hospitals to disclose their prices and it's a federal mandate to do so, and then conversely, you also need insurers to disclose their negotiated rates. Not only with the hospital but with all providers." Severn said.
"If you already have a service in that you know you need, you can go put that service into the website, fill in your insurance information, and get a really precise estimate across locations of what you would owe for that service. And if you don't have insurance and you want to pay cash, there's an option to use self-pay or cash pay and see what are the prices there." Severn said.
You can also price check blood work, imaging, and prescriptions on the website.
The website won't be helpful for those who have Medicare or Medicaid, because patients with those benefits have to follow certain guidelines when it comes to place of care and cost.
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