Last month I needed to have my car inspected to get its annual State inspection sticker. As it turns out, the car did not pass inspection and needed some work before it would pass. Even though I have insurance for my car, I never once thought that the insurance would cover any of the necessary repairs. In this day of increased usage of Consumer Driven Health Plans, health insurance is getting to be the same way.
In order to get a valid inspection sticker, my car needed two new front tires, a new tie rod and stabilizer bar. These repairs cost me over $500.00. I would have loved to have some of the cost of these repairs paid for by insurance, but as most people know that car insurance pays for repairs, not maintenance.
With today’s high deductible health plans, most health insurance is now very similar. You pay out of pocket for small repairs (doctor visits, lab tests, ER visits), but for the big expense items, your insurance will pay. In the not to distant future, the $20 co-pay for a doctor visit will disappear, and people will be responsible for paying the full $150+ fee, at least until their deductible has been met.
The availability of pricing information between the auto industry and the healthcare industry is staggering. When the mechanic told me what the cost would be to replace the 2 front tires was, I quickly pulled out my cell phone and called a large tire chain and got a better price. It is getting easier, but it is still difficult to get pricing information for common procedures. For example most people do not know that it can cost significantly less money to have a MRI done at a stand alone facility rather than a hospital. Furthermore, most times the hospital will not even let you know what is being done, or that you can go elsewhere to have it done. When individuals start paying more for their care, and understand how the system works, they certainly will do more to save as much as they can.
