Which would you rather have in your health care: convenience or low cost? Oftentimes, when choosing one, the other is sacrificed. Hospital radiology departments can generate a lot of traffic for the perceived convenience of location and as a one-stop shop for medical care. However, there is no shortage of articles that will tell you that diagnostic imaging is more … Read More
What happens when an engaged consumer tries to help control costs?
In an article, “What happens when an engaged consumer tries to help control costs?“, the author suggests the following results: As costs keep rising, and more and more people decide “I’m not going to take it anymore,” more of us will start asking “What are my options?” As word gets out that prices vary this much, it’s going to get … Read More
Arm yourself and know your CPT code
Arm yourself with an important piece of information for a medical service — the CPT code. CPT stands for Current Procedural Terminology, which is used universally across all medical and health providers. With this code, you can contact multiple providers in order to better compare costs BEFORE you have any service done. Take control. It’s your money. It’s your health … Read More
Why say yes to Capitol Imaging Services?
Twenty nine (2) centers, more than any other Southeastern United States independent radiology practice. Exam prices that often lower out of pocket expenses for people, often saving significant money. The acceptance of CareCredit, which provides a payment plan option for those undergoing exams. Self-pay pricing for people without health insurance coverage. An extensive MRI technology portfolio that fulfills the needs … Read More
What is global billing?
There are many confusing terms surrounding healthcare, healthcare services and health insurance coverage. Numerous different options can often put someone’s head in a spin as they try to grasp with bills and statements from medical provider offices, hospitals and medical centers. One term that Capitol Imaging Services often uses and can be considered to be a major financial benefit to … Read More
Even medical professionals may not understand healthcare pricing
Capitol Imaging Services shares a short story about the misunderstanding that even doctors have about healthcare pricing and costs for patients. On this particular occasion, two physicians told our staff that a local hospital was less expensive than a Capitol Imaging Services affiliate for a particular procedure, a procedure often not covered by insurance. When fully explained by our associates, … Read More
A New Year’s resolution suggestion: ask how much that test will cost!
Would you be upset if you received a medical bill for what most would consider to be an outrageous amount of money for a simple test? That’s what one person experienced with a charge of nearly $12,500 for lab work! This story, published by National Public Radio in December 2020, illustrates the continuing issue in healthcare: exorbitant fees charged by … Read More
Have a High Deductible Health Insurance plan?
According to the website, www.valuepenguin.com, “high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) were created for consumers to have a health insurance option with lower premiums and high deductibles. These plans can be linked to health savings accounts (HSAs) to pay for qualified medical expenses in a tax-advantaged way.” As we have made our way through the first two decades of the 21st century, … Read More
One hospital charges $8,000 — another, $38,000
Effective January 1, 2021, a federal rule says hospitals have to list the costs of at least some of their services in accessible, consumer-friendly language. The hope has been that equipped with this information, potential patients can shop around and make a better-informed decision before setting foot in a hospital. It may not always be easy to find these costs, … Read More
Millions can’t afford to go to the doctor
Nearly one-third of Americans skipped needed medical care in the past three months due to cost. Even about 20% of the nation’s highest-income households, those earning more than $120,000 per year, blame cost as the reason for not seeking care, up from 3% over the same timeframe. An estimated 150 million Americans say they are now more worried about the … Read More
Know your rights and choose Capitol Imaging Services
When you visit your doctor and he recommends you have a radiological scan (MRI, CT, PET, X-Ray, Ultrasound etc), you will receive a script. Your doctor will often make a recommendation where you should go for the scan. In some cases, your physician may belong to a medical group or hospital that owns the imaging center to where you are being referred and … Read More
Don’t forget to utilize your HSA or FSA funds
Capitol Imaging Services provides a reminder that in virtually all cases, monies from a qualified high deductible health plan with a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) can be used for imaging exam fees that are not covered 100 percent by insurance. This also includes certain cancer screenings such as breast (mammogram), lung (CT low-dose lung cancer … Read More
Planning and paying for a diagnostic procedure
Millions of diagnostic exams are performed in the United States each year. However, planning and paying for these often-essential procedures can be confusing and sometimes much more expensive than they need to be. If diagnostic exams were like most consumer products, you could simply compare imaging scan prices online, come up with the funds, and make your purchase. Unfortunately, almost nothing … Read More
Thousands more for an ultrasound
Capitol Imaging Services was contacted by a woman who had her doctor recommend an ultrasound due to a condition known as aortic stenosis. However, she told her doctor there was no way she was going to have the test when the hospital told her the cost was $2,870! She had health insurance and therefore the price of $2,870 would be … Read More
It’s called value
In an era of continued healthcare cost reduction, independent medical providers have an edge: It’s called value. As calls from government and private payers continue for hospitals to trim costs and become more transparent in their pricing, some experts believe the pendulum may swing to favor providers delivering quality care at the best price. The notion flies contrary to the … Read More
Customer service stinks
The above is from a quote in an article about television news personality John Stossel, when he revealed that he was diagnosed with lung cancer. The cancer isn’t really what’s bothering him. It’s the service he was receiving this week at a New York hospital. He wrote: “My doctors tell me my growth was caught early and I’ll be fine,” … Read More
Tips offered for price-conscience consumers
We suspect most everyone is price-conscience or price-sensitive, often the same thing. No one wants to pay more than they have to and in the area of healthcare, often that ends up being the case, particularly in medical imaging. Here are four pointers suggested by people who were patients themselves and underwent an imaging exam. Insurance companies negotiate different rates … Read More
Can you trust your doctor with your financial health?
That’s a question posed on a website blog that touts services medical cost savings for consumers. It’s an interesting and poignant question. Of course, the presumption is that a person trusts their doctor or medical provider with their physician health, otherwise they would seek different care. We put our trust in their training and expertise to examine, diagnose and treat properly. … Read More
Shop smart for health care: imaging studies
Become an educated consumer. Take ownership in your health care dollar and understand why you were referred to one place over another. Ask your doctor if he or she is required by his or her employer or financially incentivized to send you to a particular medical facility for testing. Look up your imaging study. There are numerous websites that provide estimates … Read More
When is it appropriate to shop for healthcare services?
Much is spoken about, written about and bantered about in regard to people becoming much more engaged with healthcare services that they may need. Services have a wide and varied range from lab work to therapy to surgeries. Within that range, of course, is medical imaging. Medical imaging is an important cog in healthcare due to its screening and diagnostic capabilities … Read More
Avoid the surprise of a hospital radiology fee
Consumer frustration with the cost of medical care is at an all-time high as many purchasers of narrow-network, high deductible and high co-pay health plans are finding out that the benefits they get from their monthly insurance premiums are much more limited than they thought. One target of the ire is “surprise” medical bills for services such as radiology that … Read More
Yes you can save money on healthcare services
Medical imaging is one area of healthcare in which people can truly save money. It’s due to one simple fact. Entities within medical imaging that are not owned by hospitals and health systems offer list prices and fees that are much, much less than behemoth hospitals. Numerous articles have been published on the subject, citing example after example of the … Read More
Be cautious when evaluating imaging centers
When evaluating based on price, that’s the advice given by a physician who works for a university medical center in New York during a radiology conference held in late 2016. We agree with that advice. However, in looking further into the advice the physician provided, his assumptions were often that “nobody really knows” if lower prices can provide the quality … Read More
Hospitals tend to be compensated by insurance companies at about twice the rate for private independent companies
The headline is a statement made in an article posted in the Southwest Citizen’s Guide on patient comparison shopping for imaging services. Often, the follow-up question most will ask is “Why?” Common reasons include: Hospitals often negotiate with insurers for higher reimbursement rates on their imaging services. Hospitals claim they need higher reimbursements due to their large overhead and to compensate … Read More
Insurance deductible, coinsurance, and copay: know the differences
Many people are confused about the differences between an insurance deductible, co-pay and coinsurance. In short, all three represent the portion of the medical bill that you are responsible for in case you get sick or injured. Another term used is out-of-pocket expense. However, there are some very unique differences between each one. Deductible An insurance deductible is usually a … Read More
Federal law allows hospitals to charge facility fees
From a story posted locally comes this excerpt: Federal law allows hospitals to charge facility fees for outpatient services at affiliated clinics, regardless of whether the clinic is anywhere near the hospital. The clinics may have the same equipment, staffing and operating expenses as a private practice, and may look much the same as a private practice, but the simple fact that … Read More
Health insurance company begins shopper program
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is rolling out a shopper program that “allows members to choose, based on quality and cost, the diagnostic imaging facility where their services are rendered.” Beginning July 1, 2017, the AIM Specialty Care Shopper program introduced to their individual Preferred Care PPO and HMO Louisiana, Inc. members for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and … Read More
The difference between hospital based and outpatient imaging
Did you know there is a difference in where you have your medical imaging exam? Most people don’t realize they have the option to visit an outpatient imaging center instead of a hospital for their exam. Or, they don’t understand there is often a big difference. At freestanding outpatient imaging centers such as Capitol Imaging Services affiliates, you can save … Read More
Insurance company takes aim at hospital outpatient imaging tests
Anthem, often called a “Blues giant,” has taken a strike against healthcare services that are provided in a hospital when the same services could be performed in an independent non-hospital outpatient setting and at lower rates. Anthem is not a health insurance carrier in Louisiana. However, it will be interesting to see how other insurance providers, as well as hospitals … Read More
Report cites “out of pocket” health spending is soaring
According to a research report published, U.S. health care spending increased to $3.3 trillion in 2016, with out-of-pocket health care costs borne directly by consumers rising 3.9 percent – the fastest rate of growth since 2007. Published by the non-profit organization, Health Affairs, health expenditures swallowed a greater part of the economy, with health expenditures making up 17.9 percent share … Read More
Be a smart shopper on health care
The bane of any purchaser is not knowing enough about the purchase opportunity. We try hard to understand the relationship between price and what we’re getting. Nowhere is this bane more pronounced than in our relationship with our health care system. There are many ways we interface with it: Emergencies — where we ask no questions and simply plead to … Read More
The mistake that can cost you up to 85% MORE for medical tests
Diagnostic tests such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs can be very expensive if you don’t have insurance. In fact, they can be expensive even if you DO have insurance, depending on your policy’s deductibles and co-pays. Most people don’t realize that the fees for these procedures can vary tremendously, depending on where they are performed. Many people use hospitals … Read More
Hospital facility fees add to ballooning costs of health care for consumers
Capitol Imaging Services shares this story about ballooning health care costs in the state of Vermont, with one reason being: The root of these increases are controversial charges known as “facility fees,” and they are routinely tacked on to patients’ bills not just for services actually provided in hospitals, but also by outpatient care centers and doctors’ offices simply because … Read More
Tests and services are almost always going to be more expensive in an emergency room or hospital setting
The headline is the “takeaway” from an April 9, 2018 story published by National Public Radio. It tells the story of a man, Benjamin Hynden, a resident of Fort Myers, FL. His medical journey included a stop at a Fort Myers hospital emergency room where one the services a nurse recommended was a CT scan. Almost $8,900 for a CT … Read More
Ten good reasons why you should choose Capitol Imaging Services
When you visit your doctor and you get a recommendation for an imaging exam, you’ll receive a referral order, also known as a script. Often, a doctor makes a recommendation on where you should go for the scan. Please be aware that you are not mandated to go where your doctor recommends on the script. You have the right to … Read More
Pipe up to your doctor, pick up the phone and shop around
That’s not advice coming from Capitol Imaging Services. Of course, we fully endorse it and have recommended these courses of action for years. People must stop being passive patients and become engaged as a active consumer. This advice comes from a myriad of sources, from reporters who cover investigative stories on healthcare prices to national organizations who recommend ways for … Read More
How to talk to your doctor about medical costs
The headline is from a published article in Consumer Reports and written by a physician. She offers sound advice on what to say and what to ask, given the health care climate of continual rising deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses. The insight is valuable and people should feel comfortable and confident in bringing up the subject of medical cost. You’re not … Read More
We just saved someone over $600 on an MRI exam
Hey, we think the image to the right is exactly how the man felt when he was told by a Capitol Imaging Services associate that with his health insurance coverage and deductible, we were going to save him several hundred dollars on an MRI exam. Unfortunately, his physician referred him to a local hospital. Upon conferring with the hospital, he … Read More
Sky high deductibles broke the US health insurance system
The above is a headline on a recent news feature published by Bloomberg, a major publisher in the business and financial market sectors. According to the feature’s authors, 39 percent of large employers offer only high-deductible plans, up from 7 percent in 2009, according to a survey by the National Business Group on Health. Half of all workers now have … Read More
They would not (or could not) tell you how much it would cost?
We share a question that was posed online in a health-related forum: “I just got an MRI (with contrast die) of my brain and my inner ear, what will it probably cost me? The procedure required two MRI technicians, 1 RN, and two Medical Doctors — time under the machine was 1 1/2 hours. — The Office manager would not … Read More
Capitol Imaging Services saved a person $400 on their ultrasound scan
When we receive feedback from people regarding their healthcare expense savings when choosing to visit Capitol Imaging Services, we want to tell the world! Here is the brief story of someone who compared their expense of an ultrasound scan, comparing a large imaging provider to us. Here are the specifics. Ultrasound: CPT code 76700 In this person’s case, there was … Read More
Cost vs. Convenience — what if you could have both?
Capitol Imaging Services asks the question, “cost versus convenience — what if you could have both?” Which would you rather have in your health care: convenience or low cost? Oftentimes, when choosing one, the other is sacrificed. If you have ever had an x-ray, MRI or CT scan, you are well aware of the expense involved. However, choosing to get … Read More
Research: hospital outpatient prices much higher for identical services
According to research published by the National Institute for Health Care Reform, average hospital outpatient department prices for common imaging, colonoscopy and laboratory service can be DOUBLE THE PRICE for identical services provided in a physician’s office or other community-based setting, such as an independent provider, i.e. Diagnostic Imaging Services. Using private insurance claims data for nearly 600,000 active and … Read More
Four money saving questions to ask every medical service provider
If you want information about saving money DIRECTLY from a person who works in the health care field, this presentation is for you! It really isn’t that difficult. There are a few key words she gives to guide you to where you want to be. Step 1: Find out what type of test you are ordered to have. In this … Read More
What is another benefit to opting for a CT colonography at Capitol Imaging Services?
People who have undergone or have been recommended to undergo an optical colonoscopy may receive up to four bills for the facility, doctor, anesthesiology, and pathology (if a polyp was removed for analysis). Even though the actual exam itself is covered in full by health insurance as part of the Affordable Care Act, other aspects of the screening exam are … Read More
Another example of hospital imaging MRI exam “sticker shock”
Even though this is not a story from our area, it still holds relevance not only in the greater New Orleans area, but in the southeastern United States as well as the entire country. This story is from a public radio news reporter in Boston, Massachusetts who needed to undergo an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan. The reporter did call … Read More