Medical Costs Seriously Impact Household Budgets, Yet Americans Don’t Manage Health Care Costs

September 30 01:00 2015 by ushadmin

According to a recent Vitals Index survey, two-thirds of American adults – about 155 million people – have been surprised by a medical bill in the past 12 months, yet people are not managing the cost of their health care.

As the nation heads into open enrollment period, the time when most Americans choose their health insurance plans, nearly one in four report they don’t know the amount of their health insurance deductible.

With over half of the respondents stating that medical costs “seriously” or “very much” impact their household budget, it would seem more Americans need to get a handle on out-of-pocket health-related medical costs. Yet, roughly three out of five people never ask their doctor about the cost of medical services they’re about to receive.

While 28 percent said price of care wasn’t discussed because they believed insurance would foot the bill, another 30 percent stated they didn’t think their doctor knew the cost. What’s more, another 16 percent said they weren’t aware they could ask about the price of medical services.

In truth, health plans control much of the cost data by negotiating rates with providers. But as more of the cost burden shifts to consumers through high-deductible plans, access to accurate and clear price data is necessary to help Americans find cost-effective care.

“This survey clearly shows that people are blindly consuming health care – much to their detriment,” said Mitch Rothschild, Executive Chairman and Founder of Vitals. “It’s obvious that we need to align incentives and get Americans to care about shopping for high-quality, affordable care.”…