the cost of a Chest X-ray...

Take the cost of a simple PA (posterior-anterior) and Lateral Chest X-ray done at a traditional Urgent Care Center or as we refer to them as a doc in a box. A typical Urgent Care accepting insurance doesn’t tell you that they will bill tests using a similar code used by hospitals. In this case bill cost of the x-ray is around $500. At Care Practice we use a nearby outpatient facility called Radnet which bills at a much lower rate of $50 both for a chest x-ray and will usually accept your insurance.

Does it really what it costs if the clinic takes my insurance? There is little correlation to the bill you get stuck with paying.

Inflated prices matter much more than you might think, and the reason is that rarely do you escape with 100% of the costs being covered. Take this basic Blue Cross plan we have linked to as an example. This plan would require a copayment of $40 for an x-ray done at a place like Radnet. Meaning they would cover $10 and you $40 for the $50 x-ray. The copayment fee for hospital x-rays under this plan is higher at $150. So with this example they pick up $350 of the $500 fee and all you had to do is spend an extra three hours waiting to get it done in the ER. Another example of insurance costing you three times the price of the test if you had come to Care Practice.

Not knowing your the fine print in your plan can cost you.