Health care is expensive, especially if you do not have health insurance. There is a growing trend to encourage people, both patients and doctors, to seek out the least expensive form of treatment. If you are going to negotiate with your doctor, it helps to know what a specific treatment or procedure truly costs. The Healthcare Blue Book can help you with that.
The phrase “Blue Book” is one that is often used when people are trying to purchase a vehicle. The Blue Book is, literally, a book with a blue cover. Inside, you can find the actual value of many vehicles, based on make, model, and how old it happens to be.
This is great for consumers, because it gives you a ball-park figure to work from. Walking onto a new or used car lot, armed with information from the Blue Book is one way to keep from being ripped off, and charged too much, for the vehicle you are considering purchasing. If you find a car that you are interested in buying, but the price is too high, you can speak with the salesmen, and point out what the Blue Book price is. This can help you to begin the negotiation process, and hopefully get you a better deal.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a physical, paper, “Blue Book” for health care services, treatments, or procedures. However, the information you need about the real price of health care is available through a website called Healthcare Blue Book. The website says it is “Your free guide to fair healthcare pricing”. Just like the Blue Book for vehicles, the Healthcare Blue Book is a good tool to use to keep from being ripped off by your health care provider.
Start by entering your zip code. This should bring up prices from health care providers that are local to you. Type in the treatment or procedure that you believe you will be undergoing. The Healthcare Blue Book will show you the fair price for that procedure.
What does “fair price” mean? According to the website, it is the recommended price for health care services of that kind. “The Blue Book price is based on the typical fee that providers in your area accept as payment from insurance companies. This is the price you should have to pay, even if your provider charges more. You can use this price to negotiate with your provider or shop for an in-network provider that charges a fair price.”
If you have a smartphone, you can bookmark the HealthCare Blue Book right onto your phone. When you are visiting a doctor, or specialist, and he suggests or prescribes a specific treatment or procedure, you can whip out your phone, and quickly discover what the fair price would be for it.
Ask the doctor how much he is charging. If it is more than the fair price, you can try and negotiate with him for a lower price. Or, you can let the doctor know that you will go find someone else to do the procedure who has a fairer price than what this doctor is charging. This puts you, the patient, more in control over how high your medical bills will be.
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