A dramatic example is the price hospitals charge of open heart surgery. The Valley Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nevada charges $233,259 for open heart surgery involving a heart valve replacement. The Mayo Clinic, recognized as one of the top heart care centers in the world, charges $79,601 for the same procedure. As another example, The Miami Herald recently published an article about hospital pricing in Florida. A woman going to Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah for physical therapy following a car accident had tried to find out what the treatment would cost her, but to little avail. After eleven sessions she started receiving the bills – $1,560 per visit. She was able to find the same service at Memorial Regional hospital in Hollywood, FL for only $50 per visit.

Hospital Overcharges

Anyone who has ever tried to decipher a hospital bill knows that they can be next to impossible to understand. This conveniently makes it easy for hospitals to hide improper charges by using mysterious medical technology and codes. Whether through deliberate overcharges or honest errors, experts estimate that hospitals overcharge patients by $10 billion a year, or an average of $1,300 per hospital stay.

Hospitals have been known to charge $129 for a mucus recovery system that was really a $2 box of tissues, $57.50 for a free teddy bear, and even $1,004 for a toothbrush. Most people never see an itemized statement, and so have no idea what they’re being charged for.

Nora Johnson, a medical billing advocate, was quoted in a recent article saying that over 90% of the hospitals bills that she has audited have had gross overcharges.

Hospitals often go to extraordinary lengths to discourage you from delving too much into your bill. Nevertheless, there are some specific things you can do to make sure you’re not getting taken for a ride.

• If possible, call the hospital’s billing department ahead of time and ask them what you will be charged for a room and what that charge includes. If it doesn’t include something you might need, such as tissues, bring your own.
• Ask your doctor to estimate your cost of treatment.
• Bring your own prescription medications to avoid paying top price for medications purchased from the hospital.
• If possible, keep your own lists of tests, medications, and treatments. Hospitals have been known to charge men for pregnancy tests and adults for newborn tests.
• Never pay the bill before leaving the hospital. You may be told this is required, but it is not. Before paying your bill read it carefully, and compare it to the estimated costs you were given before being admitted.
• Demand an itemized bill, and ask for a detailed explanation for any items you don’t understand. Don’t accept generic answers like lab fees or miscellaneous fees.

Health Savings Accounts Promote Price Transparency

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are plans that have a high deductible, and a savings account in which tax-deductible contributions can be placed. The money in the account can be used to pay deductibles and other charges not covered by health insurance. The great promise of health savings accounts is that they will re-inject market competition into the healthcare market. As all of us who were fortunate enough to take Economics 101 understand, the balance of supply and demand provides the public with the greatest value at the lowest possible cost. If company B can produce and distribute the same quality widgets as company A, but at a lower cost, then the average price of widgets will fall, more people will be able to afford more widgets, and the average quality of a widget will increase, as businesses compete for customers. This is a wonderful system, and is part of what has made the United States the wealthiest country in the world.

Unfortunately, this system has not been in play when it comes to healthcare, because the consumer has not typically been paying the bill. As a result, the consumer doesn’t care what the service costs, and most doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies are very reluctant to reveal their (high) prices.

Health Savings Accounts are now changing all that. Millions of people have purchased these plans because of the lower premiums and tax advantages they offer. This has made consumers much more aware of what they are being charged. By demanding to know prices up front, HSA holders will begin to force medical providers to compete on price and quality, just like any other business does.

By Wiley Long – President, HSA for America – http://www.health–savings–accounts.com. HSA for America makes it easy to learn about and set up Health Savings Accounts that best meets your needs. Please link to this site when using this article.

Is this tool available in all states? And are HSAs in each state the same?

The Health Savings Account (HSA) was passed in the U.S. Congress in December 2003. It was signed by President George W. Bush. That means it is a federal law. The HSA is available in every state in the Union.

However, the availability of the HSA may vary. Since this product is relatively new, not all insurance agents and financial advisors have caught on to it. Many do not know it exists yet, and not all of them offer it to their clients.

But as acceptance of HSAs grows, more and more insurance agents, advisors and even banks are beginning to offer them.

The simplest place to find an HSA is with an insurance agent. I say it is the simplest because it is easiest to purchase your HSA and your high-deductible health insurance policy in one place. If you do not purchase them in one place, you have to provide written proof to the HSA agent that you do, indeed, have a high-deductible policy. If you can?t prove that you are insured, and that the deductible is over $1,000 for an individual and $2,000 for a family, they cannot give you an HSA.

Insurance agents are also the most likely to have an in-depth knowledge of HSAs. I haven?t tried to get an HSA at a bank, but I think it?s likely that the expertise of personal bankers will not be as great as that of the average insurance agent. That?s just my opinion.

Health Savings Accounts are growing in popularity every day. They provide an excellent way to save thousands of dollars on insurance, and they are the true solution for the self-employed and the small business owner. And HSAs are available today!

Daryl Kulak is the author of the book Health Insurance Off the Grid – A Wonderful Way to Use Alternative Medicine and Save Money on Insurance Using the New Health Savings Account (HSA). The book provides a nine-step plan to get your self-employed or small business health insurance costs under control using a unique approach you won’t find anywhere else. The book is available for sale as an e-Book or paperback at the Website http://www.healthoffthegrid.com

This article will help you understand how hospital and doctor visits are different when paying with a Health Savings Account. Not better or worse, just different.

If you have an HSA, you must have health insurance. It?s a requirement. However, if you are using money from your HSA, it means that you haven?t hit the deductible of your policy yet.

In this particular situation, life is a bit different when it comes to resolving billing disputes with hospitals.

Insurance companies have a comprehensive system for dealing with billing disputes when they have covered a hospital stay or doctor visit. But when they haven?t covered it because you are still within your deductible, that comprehensive dispute resolution system doesn?t necessarily apply.

Here are some points to keep in mind when you are dealing with a hospital in a billing dispute, and you have paid with HSA money. I learned these important points when I was talking to an expert in this field named Dr. Vincent Riccardi, who is the owner of American Medical Consumer (www.medconsumer.com), a company dedicated to helping people resolve billing disputes with hospitals and doctors.

Here?s what Dr. Riccardi has to say:

I think of HSAs as a way to ?be your own insurance company? for the small stuff (under your deductible). That is its power. But it also means that when it comes to disputes, you also have to ?be your own insurance company? and take charge of the negotiations with the hospital, just like an insurance company would. Your willingness and ability to negotiate will influence your ability to get unfair charges reversed or, at least, lessened. But it?s a ?do it yourself? situation, so be aware of that when you sign up for an HSA.

Daryl Kulak is the author of the book Health Insurance Off the Grid – A Wonderful Way to Use Alternative Medicine and Save Money on Insurance Using the New Health Savings Account (HSA).

The book provides a nine-step plan to get your self-employed or small business health insurance costs under control using a unique approach you won’t find anywhere else. The book is available for sale as an e-Book or paperback at the Website http://www.healthoffthegrid.com

A person using an HSA can withdraw money from this special type of savings account for any type of ?approved medical expense.? Approved by whom? The IRS.

So, the IRS pretty much thinks that proper medical expenses are any types of Western medicine ? pharmaceutical drugs, surgery, doctor visits, etc.

However, there are a few things on the list that are alternative medical options. Chiropractors are on the list. So is acupuncture.

With acupuncture, it must be considered ?medically necessary.? That means that a doctor (MD or DO) must say that he thinks you should see an acupuncturist and write a prescription for it. Then you can see an acupuncturist and pay for it with the money from your HSA.

But there?s one more thing. When you are using an HSA in conjunction with a high-deductible health insurance policy, you start seeing the ?real costs? of everything you do, up until you hit that ?high deductible? each year.

When you start seeing the real costs of Western medicine, at that point, alternative medicine might start to look really good.

Consider the following:

A routine doctor visit done before you meet your deductible may cost you about $100. That is one hundred dollars for about a seven-minute visit. (HMOs like doctors to have short visits with their patients.)

Now think about an alternative medical provider. Let?s take a naturopath as an example. A naturopath may charge about $90 for your first visit. That visit will probably take about an hour and a half.

Let?s look at the cost in dollars-per-minute:

The doctor visit costs $14.28 per minute.

The naturopath visit costs $1.00 per minute.

You might think a doctor is better qualified to understand your health problems, but do you think they are 14 times better qualified?

Health Savings Accounts will cause all of us to evaluate our options. We?ll look at all the aspects of Western medicine and alternative medicine (or integrative medicine) and we?ll choose the ones that make the most sense.

Health Savings Accounts will change how we think of health insurance. They are a wonderful tool that almost every American can and should benefit from. And they’re available today!

Daryl Kulak is the author of the book Health Insurance Off the Grid – A Wonderful Way to Use Alternative Medicine and Save Money on Insurance Using the New Health Savings Account (HSA). The book provides a nine-step plan to get your individual health insurance costs under control using a unique approach you won’t find anywhere else. The book is available for sale as an e-Book or paperback at the Website http://www.healthoffthegrid.com

While Congress passed the legislation creating Health Savings Accounts in 2003, it has taken a while for the word to get out. In a nutshell, the deal is as follows: Health savings accounts are tax-free savings accounts, which are necessarily paired with a high-deductible insurance policy for catastrophic medical expenses. You are able to put as much as $5150 (family) or $2600 (individual) annually into these accounts, which are in turn used to cover normal and customary medical expenses, like doctor’s visits, routine checkups, etc. Some of the neat things about these accounts, besides the tax-free part, are that you may carry over unspent money from year to year, and it does not matter where you work or for whom. They are completely portable. Also in most cases, it’s very possible to realize large savings on your yearly insurance and medical expenditures. When you are in charge of how much you spend and where, the possibilities are eye-opening. Plus, you are not tied to any plan’s particular doctor or medical group: you are free to choose whoever you want. Health savings accounts, when set up properly, can not only save you lots of meony, but also cannot be cancelled except by you.

Another enticing option regarding health savings account is the savings aspect. If you have a traditional IRA or 401(k) you get a deduction for all contribututions made yearly, but after age 65 all distributions are taxed at both the federal and state level, including capital gains. (Roth IRA’s don’t apply) With a Health savings account you get the same benefits as with IRA’s and 401(k)’s, with the major difference being that monies withdrawn for qualified medical expenses are NEVER taxed! Also, with health savings accounts there is no age restriction on when you may withdraw funds like there are with the others. As far as using these funds for retirement purposes, health savings accounts are able to be withdrawn after age 65 for any purpose, without penalty, though in this case you would pay income taxes. This looks even better when you realize that account appreciation on health savings acounts is tax-free, and look even better for those who are self-employed, who may write off 100% of health care premiums. So in effect, you are buying a high- deductible insurance plan, paying the premiums from your business, and savings oodles of cash tax-free in your Health savings account. Of course, should you become sick, you’ll not only have the ability to pay for your care, a major illness won’t be the family-finance disaster it often is these days. More than 1 million Americans each year end up in medical bankruptcy becasue of inadequate coverage. Don’t let this happen to you!

Health Savings Accounts are a train long overdue finally arriving at the station. Make sure to climb onboard!

Keith Thompson is the webmaster at http://health.insurance-plans.info/health-savings-accounts For more information on health savings accounts visit the site today!