Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Page 8 Using Outp< As you know, costs of health c? inform and aid ei Below is an i expenses will be Both John an hospital for thre nutnatient hask charges for thre hospital charges Inpatient John's Bill Bilk Room & Board, 3 days $450 $150.00/day Hospital Extras Lab Test &X-Ravs $200 /Tota'Hosp. BUI ^ $650 You Ca Did you know there are several steps Clinton employees can take to help them use their health care benefits more wisely and in more cost-effective ways. These services are provided for in Clinton's Group Health Insurance Plan. Oi Ciimam wuivan^iik UUI^CIJ... Clinton's Group Health Insurance Plan provides hospital benefits for outpatient surgery performed in a hospital's outpatient department or ambulatory center, and no deductible is required. In effect, the plan will pay 100% of the reasonable and customary charges by the surgeon for surgical procedures performed in the out patient de partment of a hospital's ambulatory surgical center. A number of surgical pr. "dures considered too serious to perform in a doctor's office, but not serious enough to warrant admission to a hospital are now being per formed on an outpatient basis or in the atient Servii there is a genuine concern tt" *re. Clinton Mills, like manyotl mployees on how they can help llustration of how Clinton err d Jane needed to undergo t ie days for his tests and Jam . You can see examples of th e davs and Jane, bv usine ol y r ? J o LAB TESTA! Your Clinton Mills John Kl Insurance Pd. Paid .00 $260.00 $190.00 ?? *200.00 ?? *460.00 SlQ . *190.00 fl n Help Lowi ambulatory surgical centers. This can result in a very significant reduction in costs. Some operations that can be performed on a one-day basis include tonsillectomies, simple hernia repairs, vasectomies, removal of noncancerous cysts, some cosmetic surgery, minor gynecological procedures, even cataracts. in aaaition to saving money, outpatient and ambulatory surgery can free hospital beds for persons more seriously ill. In fact, the development of ambulatory surgical centers may be an alternative to expansion of inpatient facilities in areas where there is need for additional capacity. In Greenwood, Self Memorial Hospital has an excellent ambulatory surgical center. Another one is located in Spartanburg. Pre-admission Testing... While everyone would like to avoid hospital confinement, this is, of course, impossible. However, we can try to shorten the time ces Saves Y iroughout the United States o\ ler companies, is putting forth e ) influence these costs in gener; lployees can influence what t he same medical tests. John e had the identical tests perf< ese two bills. John's bill inclu jtpatient services, did not hav MP X-RAYS Outpatient Jane's Bill Billed Room & Board, 3 days No Room $lbU.UO/day & Board Charges Hospital Extras Lab Text &X-Rays $200.00 Total Hosp. Bill $200.00 &r Insurance and mnnevsnpnt in thp hn<;nital thmnoh nro. y ... r,v admission testing. Pre-admission testing means providing certain services such as X-rays and laboratory tests on an outpatient basis prior to a scheduled hospital admission. Until recently, it was common practice to hospitalize patients for these tests, thus increasing the length of time spent in the hospital. Pre-admission testing is especially appropriate in case of elective surgery when a battery of presurgical tests are required, with testing done in a hospital's outpatient racinties. Pre-admission testing programs offer the potential for reducing both the cost per hospital admission and time lost from work ... be sure and ask your doctor if and when the need arises. Pre-admission testing performed on an out-patient basis prior to hospital confinement will be covered at 100% if such testing is performed within five days of confinement. ou Money rer the rising ivery effort to al. heir hospital entered the Drmed on an ded hospital e to oav any Your Clinton Mills Jane Insurance Pd. Paid No deduct, or Co. pay Required $200.00 $200.00 $0 I k i Costs Diagnostic Examinations Benefits... Clinton's Group Health Insurance Plan also provides benefits up to a maximum of $200 per member each calendar year for out-of-hospital diagnostic examinations required in the diagnosisof an illness or injury. \ Among the covered items are diagnostic Xrays, laboratory and pathological examina tions when related to and necessary for diagnosis. In Conclusion... Outpatient surgery, pre-admission testing and use of the diagnostic examinations benefits are just a few of the ways Clinton employees and their dependents can help reduce the cost of health care, both for themselves and for their company. Be sure to discuss with your physician these ideas, and do your part in insuring that you have the best possible health care at the lowest possi- * ble cost. '