An Ohio hospital is soliciting help from its patients in putting together a comparison shopping tool showing not just what competing hospitals charge, but also what insurers are paying them for care. In exchange for submitting a copy of a bill from a competing hospital and the corresponding explanation of benefits form from certain insurers, Alliance Community Hospital will pay patients $100. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I think this hospital may be on to something. As you know, it is illegal for physicians to compare what they get from insurance companies with what other doctors get from said insurance company. That would be considered collusion. Now, paying patients to submit their bill and their benefits to a third party. That's brilliant. This could revolutionize the bargaining power physicians have with insurance companies. If you find out the insurance company is screwing you, you can hold out for higher fees others in your community are receiving. Who wants to start a business with me?
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Tearing Down The Walls Of Secrecy
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3 Outbursts:
Maybe... unless you're a one man shop... in which case, you can pack up your shingle and call it a career.
Payors won't put up with that and will only shift patients to the supergroups (what they miss out in margin they get in volume).
It's a shame, really.
"As you know, it is illegal for physicians to compare what they get from insurance companies with what other doctors get from said insurance company. That would be considered collusion."
HH - for the uninitiated among us, could you please elaborate on this a little bit? How does this work, and what exactly makes it illegal?
orrin, I'm not a lawyer, but I've often heard from others that physicians can not talk about their contracted rates they receive from insurance companies with other docs. Often times, the contracts have clauses that forbid discussion. I also believe, and maybe a lawyer could confirm, that comparing prices would be akin to price fixing and anti trust laws would kick in. Them r sum big words for a doc.