There are several cost-containment strategies out there, but many of them take a year (or more) to yield noticeable results. Good things take time, and you need adequate time to really see if something is working, but sometimes you need quick results. Especially when it comes to discount medical plans trying to lower their members’ healthcare costs beyond discounts. That’s where these cost containment strategies come in. Keep reading to discover three ways discount medical plans can quickly lower members’ out-of-pocket costs.‍

Digital self-service healthcare navigation.‍

One of the best ways to quickly reduce costs for your members is to offer digital healthcare navigation tools. Specifically, ones that allow your members to shop for non-emergency care on their own. As we all know, there are huge price disparities between hospitals, clinics, and providers for the same exact procedures or services. For example, one man needed two MRIs and was quoted $9,000. This price seemed outrageous to him, so he decided to shop for other prices. He found an imaging center just half a mile down the road that quoted him $950 for both. Shopping for his care ended up saving him over $8,000. This degree of disparity often surpasses discount savings, so the most effective discount providers provide both. Besides this being a way for members to almost immediately see savings, it also satisfies the need consumers have for digital shopping tools. Access to digital self-service healthcare navigation will not only save your members’ money but will also improve your satisfaction ratings.‍

Third-party bill negotiation services.

We’ve gone over a solution to help lower healthcare costs before a medical event happens, but what about after? That’s where bill negotiation comes in. A third-party patient advocacy company will take expensive medical bills and use many avenues to reduce the final bill. Our own patient advocates have an average bill reduction amount of 44% and have negotiated over $384 million dollars in savings since 2007. Not only does this service directly reduce members’ out-of-pocket costs, but it can also improve member satisfaction and retention. How? Offering bill negotiation shows members that you care about their physical and financial health.

Alternative care options.

If members are going to have an out-of-pocket cost, make sure they are aware of more affordable alternative care options. Ambulatory surgical centers and direct primary care doctors are both excellent solutions for quality care that's actually affordable. You could also consider joining the 91% of insurers who cover chiropractic care, the 32% who cover acupuncture, and the 17% who cover massage therapy. Alternative care options can be the best choice for some, but because they’re not always covered, people avoid receiving treatment at all.

Moving forward.

If lowering members’ healthcare costs is a top goal for your discount medical plan, now is the time to start implementing these strategies. The strategies listed in this blog are excellent for quick results since they all give members either instant or nearly instant healthcare savings. Your next step, as a discount medical plan, would be finding ways to actually implement these strategies. To give you a head start on your search, you can contact us here about our healthcare navigation and bill negotiation services.