Personalized Healthcare Estimates Now Available
More and more, health insurance plans are requiring out-of-pocket spending by patients, making consumers increasingly sensitive to what their potential treatments will cost. Prices for medical services can vary significantly, even for the same procedure, in the same area, with the same equipment. Jackson wants to empower our patients with the necessary information so they can make informed decisions about their care.
As part of our mission to build the health of our community, and our commitment to transforming our health system, we are excited to introduce a new program designed to help more patients get better care without the mystery of the final bill. Care Quote is a free price estimator that will provide a personalized, guaranteed price for various services at many of our major hospitals.
Unlike traditional price estimators, which rely on averages, Care Quote will check patients’ individual insurance information to provide more accurate quotes based on insurance plan design, deductibles, co-insurance, and more. This information will also be useful to patients who don’t have health insurance and want to research cash prices.
Potential patients can contact Care Quote 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling the hotline or visiting the webpage. A patient advocate will explain the program, discuss the treatment needed, and securely record the patient’s insurance information, if any. Within three business days, we will provide an exact price quote for how much the patient will need to pay on the day of service and how much will be billed in the future. Provided the patient’s insurance information does not change in the interim, that price will be guaranteed for up to 45 days. Currently, quotes are available for services at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Jackson North Medical Center, Jackson South Medical Center, and Holtz Children’s Hospital.
During this first phase of Care Quote, most prices will only include hospital fees. Charges from physicians and other third-party caregivers are not managed by Jackson and are not currently included in the price quotes. The prices will also exclude the rare cases where physicians need to perform extensive additional procedures due to unexpected clinical complications. For most patients seeking services, however, Care Quote will be a powerful tool that gives them and their loved ones more control, more knowledge, and more financial security about their treatment.
We believe Jackson’s world-class clinical excellence, and this new commitment to price transparency, will be an important step toward improving countywide healthcare delivery.