Controlling Healthcare Costs

The cost of healthcare is high. As a result, health insurance is recognized as one of the most important benefits of employment. We offer these plans to you at extremely favorable rates because we pay the majority of the costs.

However, the way you use this benefit can make a huge difference in your out-of-pocket costs. What can you do to help control healthcare costs?


 

• Call Anthem BlueCross BlueShield at 833-578-4439 for non-emergency hospital questions, or if you have any concerns or questions regarding what may or may not be covered.


• Use the Anthem BlueCross BlueShield website (www.anthem.com). We encourage you to use the Anthem website to:
   
  • Look up doctors in your area that participate in the network.
  
  
  • Find a network hospital.
  
  
  • Estimate fees.
  
  
  • Evaluate your health by completing a confidential Health Assessment.
  
  
  • Take advantage of discounted products and services like eyeglasses, health supplies, etc.
  
  
  • Obtain health and wellness information.
  
  
  • Get benefit details including the status of your claims. 


• Use an in-network provider to save yourself and the plan from significant costs. If you go to a provider outside of the network, you will pay more for your deductible, your co-insurance and your co-payments. There's a significant financial cost to you as well as to the plan for receiving services outside of the network. Doctors outside of our network have not agreed to limit their rates and may charge more for their services than our network maximums. Our plan may only pay up to 140% of the standard Medicare rate for the service and you'll have to pay the difference. Please call Anthem at 833-578-4439 or visit them online at www.anthem.com if you need assistance finding a network doctor in your area.


• Use Emergency Room services only in emergencies. That may seem obvious, but all too often the kid with the runny nose or scraped knee ends up in the Emergency Room. Or, worse yet, people go there for routine care out of convenience. Emergency Room visits are typically 3 to 5 times more expensive than non-emergency room visits for the same problems. Most major clinics offer “Urgent Care” services for non-routine and non-emergency situations. Typically, they don’t require an appointment, and the services are still substantially less expensive than an Emergency Room. Make it a point to know which clinics in your area offer Urgent Care services and what the Urgent Care hours are. Of course, if you have an emergency, by all means go to the Emergency Room.


• Use our Flexible Spending Account (FSA) to lower the tax bite on dollars you’re using to cover healthcare expenses.


• Use LiveHealth Online to get connected with U.S. Board Certified doctors while on the go, right from your mobile device. Doctors can answer your questions, make a diagnosis and prescribe basic medications if necessary. To learn more, log onto LiveHealth Online or download the mobile app.


• Always call Anthem prior to any non-emergency hospital admissions. If you don’t call first, your coverage for the hospital stay will be reduced significantly.

By properly managing your healthcare, including choosing doctors within the network, you can help keep costs down for you and for the plan.