Consultants to Contact
- Allison Young - Vice President & Consulting Actuary (Dallas)
- Bonnie Albritton - Vice President & Principal (Dallas)
- Brian Rankin - Vice President & Principal (Washington, D.C.)
- Brian Stentz - Vice President & Principal (Dallas)
- Cabe Chadick - President & Managing Principal (Dallas)
- Chris Merkel - Senior Vice President & Principal (Kansas City)
- David Dillon - Senior Vice President & Principal (Dallas)
- Daniel Moore - Vice President & Senior Consulting Actuary (Dallas)
- David Palmer - Vice President & Principal (Baltimore)
- Glenn A. Tobleman - Executive Vice President & Principal (Dallas)
- Heather Robinson - Senior Consultant & Director - Underwriting (Kansas City)
- Jamie Fender - Vice President & Consulting Actuary (Dallas)
- Jason Dunavin - Vice President & Senior Consulting Actuary (Kansas City)
- Jeffrey D. Lee - Vice President & Consulting Actuary (Kansas City)
- Josh Hammerquist - Vice President & Principal (Dallas)
- Jing Qian - Vice President & Consulting Actuary (Dallas)
- Jacqueline Lee - Vice President & Principal (Dallas)
- Kevin Ruggeberg - Vice President & Senior Consulting Actuary (Dallas)
- Kim Shores - Vice President & Principal (Kansas City)
- Muhammed Gulen - Vice President & Legal Consultant (Dallas)
- Moshe Nelkin - Senior Consulting Actuary (Dallas)
- Mark Stukowski - Vice President & Principal (Denver)
- Patrick Glenn - Vice President & Principal (Kansas City)
- Robert Dorman - Vice President & Consulting Actuary (Dallas)
- Traci Hughes - Vice President & Senior Consulting Actuary (Dallas)
- Tom Roberts - Vice President & Consulting Actuary (Dallas)
- Vickie Goodman - Vice President & Director - Compliance (Kansas City)
Testimonial
One of the biggest issues that many consumers face when they get health care is that they do not know exactly how much it might end up costing them, even if they have health insurance. As a consequence, many experts say that people may land themselves in financial difficulty simply because they don't know what their end costs will be, and that something needs to change in the near future.
This issue may become particularly prevalent in the coming years as Americans are more likely to face a larger share of their medical bills than they ever have before, thanks to declining benefits on employer-issued health insurance plans, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. As such, many in the medical field say that now might be a good time to push for what is known in the industry as “price transparency,” which as the name implies, would allow consumers to gain a better understanding of what they're actually going to end up paying for whatever care – be it preventative or emergency – they ultimately receive.
Moreover, experts say this might be important depending upon the insurance situation in which a patient finds oneself. For instance, certain insurers have the ability to negotiate more affordable prices for everything from hospital stays to check-ups, and often even doctors don't know what their patients will eventually have to pay for any treatment they receive, especially once they leave the office and have to obtain prescriptions, tests, and specialist opinions.
Why hasn't this happened yet?
Of course, when it comes to overhauling the entire way the American medical industry bills consumers, there has to be some incentive to change from the current system, the report said. With consumers being more personally empowered in terms of finding affordable care by the recent push for broader insurance coverage nationwide, it's possible that they'll be more likely to shop around when they need non-emergency care, and that could lead to potential upticks in business for providers that are more open about what they charge, and are able to keep prices relatively low.
Health insurers might also be able to apply a little more pressure to care providers in terms of urging them to provide more transparent pricing to patients, and as such could benefit both their customers and bottom lines going forward.