Why are there such large discrepancies in price for a procedure?
That's the nature of healthcare. To understand this you need to first understand the basics of how procedure prices are determined by the medical facilities and insurers. Rates are established by the medical facilities and insurers negotiating what will be allowed to be paid to a medical facility for a particular procedure/test. These rates are negotiated based upon various facility attributes such as size of medical facility, equipment, care, and quality amongst others. As a result of it being a negotiation, one medical facility may have negotiated a much better, what is called reimbursement rate or allowable, than other facilities. Now, this is critical in understanding the way healthcare cost works. A "better" reimbursement rate for a medical facility is actually a "more expensive" rate for a consumer or insurer. These varying reimbursement rates lead to price differences of hundreds of dollars, if not more, and this is what we at NewChoiceHealth are trying to expose so consumers, that's you, will be better informed to make more cost effective healthcare decisions.
Why doesn't NCH have the specific medical facility in my area that I am looking for?
NCH has worked hard to present as many medical facilities as possible to our customers. As of now, we have more than 20,000 medical facilities featured and are consistently adding more. So, if you would like to notify us of a facility that you would like for us to feature please contact us at
customerservice@newchoicehealth.com and we'll do our best to get them into our system.
I didn't find the medical procedure I was looking for, why not?
NCH has launched our service across the entire nation targeting the 400 most commonly performed medical procedures. We are diligently working to add more procedures and look forward to the day that we have all 13,000 detailed medical procedures available for price comparison.
Why are some procedure prices the exact same for different medical facilities?
NewChoiceHealth has developed a proprietary price algorithm which models procedure cost for medical facilities. Often similar medical facilities will have very similar reimbursement rates and therefore very similar cost. As you navigate around you will find in general that the independent testing facilities or ambulatory surgery centers have lower cost than hospitals. When facilities pricing details are not available or transparent for the exact procedure we have included our modeled cost which will allow you to compare procedure cost to other facilities in your area.
Are the cost/prices listed in NewChoiceHealth the total cost or the exact cost of the procedure?
No, the cost presented in NewChoiceHealth are modeled cost and not 100% accurate. However, NewChoiceHealth stands behind our cost estimates and believes them to be 90+% accurate which should give you a great basis to understand who charges what for a particular procedure in your area. Also, the cost presented for the actual procedure/test are not inclusive of other supporting medical test/procedures which may be required for your particular case or procedure. So, it is important to ask what other procedures or test might be needed in support of the primary procedure. Once you identify what else might need to be run then you can use NewChoiceHealth to determine what those additional costs will likely be.
What is the minimum price, average price, and maximum price on results?
This simply shows you the lowest, average, and maximum price listed for the particular procedure throughout the United States. To determine which facility the price is actually for simply navigate through our directory by state, city, and then by the specific procedure. You will then be able to identify which facility charges that modeled price.
Is the cost information listed binding prices and should I use it as medical advice.
No, The medical procedure and cost information provided by NewChoiceHealth is for educational purposes only and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. End users of this information are solely responsible for determining if this information is helpful and suitable for their purposes. End users should not exclusively rely on this information for making their healthcare purchasing decisions. End users should consult a physician or other medical care provider regarding any medical questions you may have. NewChoiceHealth is not sponsored or maintained by physicians or licensed medical care providers and may not be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. NewChoiceHealth assumes no responsibility or liability for any advice, price, cost, treatment, debts, or services performed or obtained by any facility to include but not be limited to hospitals, independent testing facilities, imaging centers, physicians, ambulatory surgery centers, insurance companies, health plans, or healthcare facilities of any kind featured within this report or within the www.newchoicehealth.com website.
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contact us and a member of our customer support team will gladly assist you.
