As health plans continue to change and evolve, the cost of care is becoming an increasingly important factor for all of us. Many of us, who are without health insurance or who have high-deductible health plans, are paying greater portions (if not all) of our health care costs. As patients, it is important to research our options and ask questions. As a practice, we try our best to educate patients about any charges they will incur through Virginia Women’s Center.
A recent report by two national non-profits, the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute and the Catalyst for Payment Reform, evaluated all 50 states on health price transparency. Virginia was one of seven states that was graded a “B.” You can learn more about the report in this article from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
As patients, one step of our research can be to compare data on health care prices in Virginia. The Virginia Health Information Web site lists the average cost of over 30 common procedures and compares prices based on the facility where it is performed. For example, the data compares the cost of having a screening, such as a bone density scan, in a hospital as compared to a doctor’s office. According to the data, having a bone density scan at a doctor’s office is on average 61 percent less expensive than having the scan at a hospital.
One part of our mission at Virginia Women’s Center is to offer convenient access to other services that complement the OB-GYN care we provide. For this reason, we have expanded beyond traditional OB-GYN care to offer our patients services such as urology care, high-risk pregnancy care, OB genetic counseling, ultrasounds, in-office procedures, mammograms, bone density scans, psychology and onsite labs. Originally, we started to offer these services because it was convenient for our patients. Since integrating these services into our practice, we have found additional benefits. Some patients have less anxiety and are more likely to seek these services when they are already familiar with Virginia Women’s Center. In addition, our electronic health records allow for coordinated care across our five locations and many service lines.
As more employers are offering high-deductible health plans, we are beginning to realize another benefit for our patients: cost savings. While some procedures need to be performed in the hospital, many are able to be performed in the office and at a much lower price tag.
Research is an important step for all of us to become more informed health care consumers. What resources have you found helpful in your research?
Virginia Women’s Center is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com
