Americans Not Pursuing Healthcare Due To Cost

Health insurance is a hot topic right now – and a very divisive one in certain arenas. We’re going to steer clear of politics and talk about people getting medical care, period. In other words: are we going to the doctor when we need to? As it turns out, not so much.

Recently published by the Commonwealth Fund:

 “A 2013 survey conducted in 11 countries finds that U.S. adults are significantly more likely than their counterparts to forgo health care because of the cost, to have difficulty paying for care even when they have insurance, and to deal with time-consuming insurance issues.” [Emphasis added.]

Like we said, insurance aside, affordability is key to getting the help we need, when we need it. As doctors we find this cause for great concern. In fact, we take it to heart in our own practice at Diagnostic Imaging Centers. You’ll notice that on our blogs we seldom toot our own office’s horn but occasionally what is topical in the news is topical to us – moreover to our patients. So please pardon our self-talk here, but we’re going to talk about ourselves a little in this post – and then we’re going to talk about the most important person: YOU. 

We don’t want people to miss out on medical care. We love taking care of people – we get the opportunity to do this through our patients, but if people aren’t going to the doctor when they need to… that’s bad news.

So, where do we fit in? Where do you fit into this conversation?

We made several key commitments with our clinics:

• Patient care is the top of the list. We want to provide the best service possible with the best technologies available. There will be no sacrificing care for the sake of saving a dollar.

• Also, affordability is integral to providing patient care. Without affordability there would be no patients. We’ve looked at our local competition and made the commitment to provide the most affordable imaging care possible. The fiscal threshold for getting needs met should be low as possible.

• Last but not least, we strongly believe in transparency. This means the cost of our services is available upon request. We are straightforward in our billing (many other imaging centers/hospitals separate the cost of the test from the cost of the radiologist’s reading of it into – surprise – a second bill). Try calling a hospital for an estimate on the cost of a CT scan. Many are not even able to provide the number. We find this unacceptable.

Now, for you:

• According to this recent study, you may be among those who aren’t getting the care you need because of cost. It’s time that changes – you need to know that the help you need may be more affordable than you think. Make the commitment to yourself and your loved ones that you will pursue care when needed.

• When it comes to medical providers, you have a choice. This is SO important. There are multiple providers for many disciplines. Just because you are told you go to hospital X for your MRI doesn’t mean that is the only place you can go. Look into your options – and please know you have them.

• And most importantly, shop around. Look for the best quality care AND the best price. You might be surprised to learn that there is an option for you that is affordable and has great doctors who have gone the extra distance for special field-specific accreditations.

The big takeaway here is this: we want to empower you with the knowledge that health care may be more affordable than you think. And knowing that means you may go to the doctor when needed. We want you to celebrate and live your best possible health.

Image credit: Medicine Cost by Images_of_Money (via Flickr) Copyright Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Originally published 11/14/13 on mammographykc.com