A recent report highlights U.S. household incomes have barely changed over the past 20 years on an inflation-adjusted basis due in large part to the exploding costs of employer health coverage. Healthcare costs have risen dramatically and consumed almost all household income growth. Medxoom is working to help employers gain some visibility into medical procedure price and quality variance to save money with our proprietary pre-service  comparison shopping technology.

A recent study by RAND Corp. has shown large variances in hospital prices and quality for all procedures. As the fight by employers and patients for price transparency continues, Medxoom’s comparison shopping technology can help can help consumers navigate the system to help find highest quality lower cost hospitals in their region.

We’re looking forward to learning and sharing actionable ideas at the upcoming HCAA Executive Forum.

If you’d like to talk to learn how Medxoom is helping its TPA partners deliver their client groups more engaged satisfied members with lower provider costs and improved quality, just fill out our form so we can schedule a time to talk while there.

Health insurers overcharging Medicare Advantage plan members for medical procedures, and therefore Medicare and U.S. taxpayers, is a common practice, according to Kaiser Health News. If questionable inflated billing issues are happening to the Federal Government, imagine what’s happening with your employer health plan. To protect your plans assets, consider using an independent TPA, get rights to audit large claims before paying them, look at Reference Based Pricing plans, and use Medxoom technology to help your employees navigate the healthcare system.

The healthcare industry is facing potential systemic changes as the awareness of high prices compared to actual costs and lack of price transparency continues to spread among employers and consumers. The healthcare system is currently built to maximize profits, not to compete for patients on quality and price like every other business.  Medxoom helps employers and their employees shed light on healthcare price and quality before service with its proprietary Comparison Shopping technology.

The Center for American Progress has released a report examining the rising prices that patients are incurring from Hospitals across the country. Commercial insurers are estimated to pay about twice what Medicare does for hospital care. High prices do not always indicate better quality; in fact, they often mask inefficiencies in the hospital business. Among potential solutions to the growing industry-wide problem is to introduce reference-based pricing as a way to help negate the rising costs. Medxoom’s proprietary Comparison Shopping technology helps patients educate themselves on procedure price and quality variances before treatment with their health plan.

The employers and people of Summit County in Colorado banded together to lower the prices at their hospital by 20% – a move that could spark change across the nation. One of the key factors in accomplishing this was the power of leverage gained by the knowledge the hospital was charging 5 to 8 times what Medicare was paying for the same procedures. Medxoom can help provide employers and their employees the much-needed knowledge of local price and quality variances with our proprietary comparison shopping tool prior to getting care.

Consumers are seeing rising costs in healthcare services as well as insurance plan deductibles. As patients try to save money where they can, Consumer Reports says that one way to save money is to ask for a direct cash from your healthcare providers. Medxoom can help patients weigh their options with pre-service pricing technology for healthcare services and employers with cash e-payments systems for their employees.

Hospitals are able to make millions of dollars through referrals from their staff physicians, a practice that is not illegal. However, if there are financial incentives tied to the physician referrals to their patients, this violates federal law. If illegal incentives are in place, patients, insurers and employers end up footing the bill. Medxoom’s Comparison Shopping technology used prior to service can help patients reduce costs and improve quality by showing any tests or MRIs in hospitals are much more expensive than in free standing centers not in hospitals.

A recent report has shown that consumers don’t know how much cost variation there is in health care services between providers, and it’s costing them $18 billion in overpayments due to the price variation seen across the healthcare industry from hospitals. In network price variation is negatively impacting all U.S. consumers. Medxoom’s proprietary comparison shopping tool allows consumers and employers to get a better understanding of the price and quality variation of a medical service before they get it.