With health benefit redesign, consumers are paying a more significant portion of their healthcare costs than ever before. This changing dynamic of healthcare payment creates challenges for both consumers and providers. Decision support tools to engage consumers in planning for healthcare costs and to help providers set expectations up front are imperative.
Thomson Reuters offers a tool - the Treatment Cost Calculator - that provides highly accurate, real-time estimates of anticipated out-of-pocket costs for services and pricing at the specific provider level.
Provider: Treatment Cost Calculator PDF
Consumer: Treatment Cost Calculator PDF
Benefits
- Improves customer satisfaction and facilitates better management of consumer's own healthcare by identifying patients' costs associated with a specific treatment before care
- Offers accurate, no-surprise cost estimates by furnishing pricing that is targeted to specific providers instead of using generic charge information
- Allows the provider to apply "down payment" or "hold and settle" models for patient payment by accurately estimating the patient's obligation. Provides personalized estimates based on the patient's current benefit coverage and status (e.g., deductibles, out-of-pocket limits, etc.)
- Avoids disruption of the charge capture and revenue cycle management by supporting the payer's existing system and the provider's existing workflows. It doesn't require major system changes