GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Michigan health insurance company is giving its members more incentive to shop around before their next doctor’s visit.
Target 8 investigated health care costs last year, discovering the cost of the same medical procedure can vary by hundreds or even thousands of dollars between facilities.
Monday, Priority Health announced that it will rewarding people up to $200 for choosing a fair-priced medical procedure through the company’s new cost estimating tool, which allows members to understand what they will pay for a procedure and how they could pay less under their insurance plan.
If a member knows the best cost of care and where to receive it, they could now get a Visa gift card for between $50 and $200 through the PriorityRewards program.
“These are very expensive procedures and providing them $200 back on a $4,000 procedure just makes good business sense,” Joan Budden, chief marketing officer of Priority Health, told 24 Hour News 8.
You can find the fair market price for a specific service to make sure you’re getting a good price using Healthcare Bluebook, an independent company that provides statewide comparisons of pricing and quality on health care facilities and procedures.
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Online:
Inside woodtv.com:
A one-page checklist to help you check health care costs (pdf)
