Americans Not Shopping Smart For Medical Services
A new survey shows that Americans rate health care as a high priority, but the majority would not put forth the effort to shop around for lower prices and higher quality. The results indicate that most adults are not utilizing the plethora of health care information that has been made available in recent years by health insurers and Medicare, states Destiny Health, which commissioned the survey of 1,000 American adults.Only 10% of adults said they would be “extremely likely” to shop around for medical services if they could obtain information on the prices and quality of doctors and hospitals, Destiny finds. Another 29% indicated they would be “very likely” to look for improved health care services. That means the total percentage of respondents likely to shop for medical services is lower than 40%, a figure that Destiny calls too low.
This laissez-faire attitude among patients also was reflected in the time they spend on health care decisions. Adults spend 20 days researching their last major household purchase, but only 9.7 days on research to select a doctor.
“The sad fact is, consumerism is making an impact in every corner of the American economy but the doctor’s office,” says Barry Swartzberg, executive director of Destiny Health’s sister company, Discovery Health. “That needs to change if we are to gain control of rising health care costs.”
Article provided by BenefitNews, August 24, 2006.
posted by Mike @ 12:15 AM
19 Comments:
The difficulty in finding good reliable information is one of many reasons why I belive people don't spend the time. How do you find the right information. What are the important criteria in choosing a doctor, hospital, rehab ctr, For example under my current plan the doctor I want is either not covered or he/she is but the surrounding medical facilities are not. If one or the other is not in your plan then you foot the bill for the costs over the "reasonable and customary amount." What does this mean. Many medical facilities charge between 85% to 484% over what is reasonable and customary (what insurance carriers under contract with the facilities normally pay). I recently had surgery at John Muir Medical Center and had my imagery work done at Bay Area Imagery Consulting. My doctor was in my plan but the medical and imagery services weren't. I received a letter from my insurance carrier which stated that both centers were charging up to 484% of what was reasonable and customary. They paid the 15% to 50% and the facilities billed me for the rest.
How does one go about finding much less understanding the complexities of the medical world.
Looking for the right coverage, the right doctors, the right facilities can be exasperating, degrading and downright depressing. Why would one want to spend that kind of time trying to make decisions on what they don't understand; or know how to get the right information in order to make a decission. I think the industry should set up a transparent look at thier doctors, facilities, etc. and have a central place where patients can blog research and get reccomendations. It would be interesting to see the medical industry rated like "products. Something like Nextag where they have reviews and are based on price, service and quality of the product."
good site
nise site
best site
good site
good site
http://www.mentalhealth.net.in/
good site
http://www.tutorials.net.in/
http://www.onlinecasino.org.in
online casinos offer signup bonuses to new players making their first deposit.
These bonuses normally match a percentage of the player's deposit with a dollar
maximum, and almost all online casino signup bonuses require a minimum amount
of wagering before allowing a cash out
good site
http://www.aishwaryaraiworld.org/
good site
http://www.fitness-world.org/
good site
http://www.info-language.com/
good site
http://www.outsourcing-world.org/
good site
good site
Hi !
tramm
http://tramadol-online-rt.blogspot.com
viavia
http://viagrao1o.blogspot.com
At you the excellent site, a lot of useful info and good design, thank.
cial
http://cialis3ter243.blogspot.com
xannax
http://xanax-xanax-7.blogspot.com
phent
http://phentermine0wwww.blogspot.com
I believe you will have a lot of exciting times ahead in your future with the web.
cheapphent
http://cheap-phentermine-trb.blogspot.com
adipp
http://adipex-xepida.blogspot.com
paylo
http://payday-loans-ddt.blogspot.com
Pretty nice site, wants to see much more on it!
phenmin
http://phentermine9679.blogspot.com
phenn
http://phentermine9873.blogspot.com
Excellent forum, added to favorites!
phmin
http://phentermine9673.blogspot.com
oncas
http://onlinecasinos-ooppa.blogspot.com
Well, thanks!
Greetings!..
tramm
http://tramadol-online-rt.blogspot.com
viavia
http://viagrao1o.blogspot.com
Hello admin, nice site ! Good content, eautiful design, thank !
cial
http://cialis3ter243.blogspot.com
xannax
http://xanax-xanax-7.blogspot.com
phent
http://phentermine0wwww.blogspot.com
I consider that beside Your site there is future!
cheapphent
http://cheap-phentermine-trb.blogspot.com
adipp
http://adipex-xepida.blogspot.com
paylo
http://payday-loans-ddt.blogspot.com
Pretty nice site, wants to see much more on it!
phenmin
http://phentermine9679.blogspot.com
phenn
http://phentermine9873.blogspot.com
Excellent forum with fantastic references and reading.... well done indeed...
oncas
http://onlinecasinos-ooppa.blogspot.com
phmin
http://phentermine9673.blogspot.com
Thanks much!
Good design!
[url=http://qtbsyzoy.com/nndd/zoku.html]My homepage[/url] | [url=http://lrslfzow.com/nlve/ikss.html]Cool site[/url]
Well done!
My homepage | Please visit
Well done!
http://qtbsyzoy.com/nndd/zoku.html | http://iijpviup.com/seiz/jdfi.html
Post a Comment
<< Home