It’s not all bad new out there for Health Care these days. There is good news. You just have to know where to look for it unfortunately.Before the new health care reform, some insurance companies were already making concentrated efforts to lower health care costs. Health care costs are a responsibility of every player in the health care system including hospitals, doctors and other staff, insurance companies and yes, even “we” the patients. Costs are rising from several factors and we consumers can play a big role in helping to reduce costs.So what are insurance companies doing to help? One company has an independent service that works to help keep your costs as low as possible. How you ask? Some Companies are providing advocates that will make costs more transparent so you can make decisions that can lower your overall costWhat if we could know up front how much a procedure would cost? How many times do we just shake our head in agreement when the doctor advises that we need a specific test or procedure? Of course we want to follow doctors orders, but why do we proceed so quickly without even knowing what this could cost us in the end?Wouldn’t it be nice if we had an “estimate” of the procedure? Did you know for example that lab facilities vary widely in their fees for tests? By knowing what labs in our neighborhood charged for certain tests we could have more control and make a more informed decision that could positively effect the end cost of our own health care dollar.Some services even offered cash rewards for using their program to “shop” for specific procedures such as MRI’s, CT Scans, Colonoscopies and more. Upon reviewing this independent service I found these other benefits:1. Explanation on how best to use your benefits
2. Help you work through claims and billing issues
3. Negotiate with out-of-network providers
4. Clarify the amount you can expect to pay for health care services.Don’t forget that this was an independent company not affiliated with a specific insurance company. Insurance companies seem to be seeking to add this value to their plans to make consumers aware of services like these that can be a benefit to the entire health care system.