Health Savings Account Blog

After a car accident last August, Lisa Salvato's was having problems with her left hand. Following recommendations of her neurologist, she went in for outpatient therapy for strengthening exercises. When she asked the financial office what she could expect the expenses to be, she had a hard time getting answers. One woman wouldn’t tell her anything, and another said about $400.

The bills started coming after she had completed her 11th session, and that’s when she found out that the 45 minute exercise therapy sessions were costing $1560 for each time. After doing some asking around, she was able to find the same therapy, for only $50 per session.

Hospitals and doctors often don’t really want the patient to know how much they are being charged. Especially when they’re ripping the patient off.

Part of the appeal of Health Savings Accounts is that, by allowing the consumer to be involved in their healthcare decisions, these plans will put competitive pressure on healthcare providers to provide better service at a lower cost. Otherwise, the potential patient might go elsewhere.

The challenge with this concept is that it is still very difficult to learn about medical pricing. Some politicians would like hospitals to let customers know their prices prior to receiving treatment. A bipartisan bill introduced in the House of Representatives would require hospitals nationwide to reveal the prices of their 25 most common procedures. A measure passed last year by the Florida Legislature would make pricing of some procedures available.

However it happens, encouraging price transparency will be a big help to anyone who has a high deductible health savings plan which is being covered by funds from their HSA.