In reviewing what My Health and Money members need to save money and make better decisions, we began looking for new developments in the way medical care is delivered. As a result of our research, we decided to partner with several companies that have innovative online services to help patients get answers to questions about their treatment, and in some cases even talk with a doctor about a symptom they’re experiencing. Our new Premium Plus membership (available Feb. 7) offers members access to nurses, doctors, therapists and financial advocates — real experts who are available 24/7 for a quick chat, call or email. And board-certified primary care doctors who can deliver medical care on-demand from a distance via video/chat, phone or email.
All of these services are included in the My Health and Money membership for only $10.99/month, which is a lot cheaper than going to a doctor’s appointment when you have a quick question. For instance, I was prescribed a medication for a different purpose than how the drug is used frequently. I wanted to know more about it, but my prescribing doctor is an OB/GYN and doesn’t really prescribe these drugs very often. Therefore, she wasn’t a very good source of information about comparable drugs — one was a generic and one was a brand name drug. I went online and couldn’t get my question answered. I would love to have been able to send a quick message to a Licensed Therapist to find out about the drugs and maybe get a recommendation. If I’d had this service I could have made a better decision about the cost/benefit of the older generic drug over the new brand name drug. It would have cost me nothing extra, and I could have done it in a few minutes rather than the hour of web searching I spent. Love having a safety net at my disposal with our Premium Plus membership.
Telemedicine and call-center nursing services are easy ways to get answers to questions about health and treatment. This isn’t a familiar way of taking care of our health today, but will become common in the future. Why spend $150/doctor’s visit, if I can get an answer to my question for a small monthly fee. Nurse lines are good for what’s called “case management” because they help educate us about treatments, facilities, and what services will be provided with particular procedures. They are not meant to take the place of physician/patient relationships, but they support this relationship at a lower price tag. Online physician services are great options if you can’t get to the doctor’s office when it’s open. For only $39.95 you can get an online appointment for non-emergency services through our site. This comes in handy if you’re traveling, or need a doctor in the middle of the night, and don’t need to see an emergency room doctor.
Financial advocates are a godsend when you get a bill and your blood pressure rises sharply. As a member of My Health and Money, you can call our service partner to help you understand your benefits, figure out a payment plan or even ask them if they can talk to your providers about repricing your portion of the bill. If you’ve ever tried to get a hospital billing office on the line to talk about a bill, you know how useful this service can be. This is also a great way to keep providers accountable for billing mistakes and overcharges.
As we continue to build our website to offer members ways to become savvy healthcare consumers, we hope to hear from you in our Ask&Answer section. Get peer-to-peer conversations going on what issues you’re having or how you’ve resolved them regarding managing your care and costs. When we all become more educated about the healthcare system and how it works, we will truly be able to take control.
