On August 1, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina began a new Treatment Cost Estimator that was created to assist members in their health care decisions by providing them with data on the costs of elective procedures. It will give consumers an estimated range of what a procedure might cost and provide them with information on how the cost will differ based on the physician or hospital they select. The new tool takes the place of the other cost estimation tool and provides cost information to the provider search tool. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina joined other Blue plans throughout the U.S. to provide new cost range information for different types of treatments and procedures based on network claims data. The tool can be found on mybcbsnc.com.
This new cost estimator provides average costs for 59 common elective procedures. This information will help members get more informed and be more in control when they make choices about their health care. More information and medical procedures will be added to the tool later in the year. Unfortunately, the tool is not available to members on Medicare Advantage (Blue Medicare), Medicare Supplement, FEP and Dental-only.
BCBSNC decided to introduce the tool because health plans are progressively asking consumers to make informed decisions about their health care, and consumers often don’t have the information they need to find out how much they will have to pay for a procedure and why. The goal of this new cost estimator tool is to help members as they work with their doctor to make decisions about where to select their health services.
BCBSNC members can use the tool after they log into Member Services online at www.mybcbsnc.com to find information about the cost of the treatment they need. Once they log in using their Member ID and secure password, members can use the doctor or facility search to see the cost ranges of specific practices or facilities.
The Treatment Cost Estimator in Member Services can also be used by members to find out the estimated cost range for many elective procedures, without even choosing a certain physician or hospital.
The tool will be updated every six months in April and October.