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 and health systems, react to this move.
Hospitals worry about patient care and their own bottom lines
This is really not anything new in the world of health insurance. Anthem has taken other steps to curb costs in an attempt to reduce claims and ultimately premiums it charges its insurance members.
A few years ago, Anthem began calling members who were scheduled for imaging exams such as an MRI or CT at a hospital and informed people that if they had their test done at an independent outpatient imaging provider, their costs could be significantly lower. This is the same concept that Capitol Imaging Services has been preaching for several years: that hospitals are the most expensive place to have any medical service. There is historical data available online, supplied by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), that provide average submitted charges for MRI exams at hospitals across the country.
In the southeastern United States, when comparing average hospital MRI charges to those of Capitol Imaging Services, we are SIGNIFICANTLY lower.
Reduce wasteful healthcare spending
Carriers such as Anthem claim their goal is to reduce spending. The rebuttal often posed by hospitals is that lower fees result in a lower quality of care. Capitol Imaging Services agrees that in some cases with other independent imagers, their quality is not up to snuff.
However, at Capitol Imaging Services, our quality is the same, if not better. We offer technology many hospitals do not have. All this at lower rates. Hard to believe, we know, but believe it you should.
As we have said for many years, why pay more when you do not have to? Go to the hospital when it is an urgent or emergency situation. In all other cases, seek out money-saving opportunities in healthcare.
From imaging exams to lab work to choosing an independent physician over one employed by a hospital, people have many opportunities to save money and still get excellent quality of care.
Ask for the price
Not quite sure how to go about finding out the prices and charges for healthcare services? You are not alone. But, we have made it easy to complete a price request from us.
Click here to access our REQUEST A PRICE ESTIMATE tool. With as much information as you can provide, a Capitol Imaging Services affiliate will complete a good faith estimate of any fee you would need to pay.
Capitol Imaging Services is doctor trusted and patient preferred.