SmartShopper:
A new part of our healthcare cost savings is called “SmartShopper”. This is a program run by a company called “Vitals”. The goal is to find high-quality, low-cost locations for a host of medical procedures/screenings. Medical procedures can fluxuate in pricing by hundreds or thousands of dollars for the same procedure from one location to another. If you use SmartShopper to find the more cost efficient locations/doctors, then you will be sent a cash reward.
As consumers of medical services, we typically don’t know (and don’t ask) what is the actual cost of the procedure/service/test. We simply want to know the cost of our co-pay, not the cost to the insurance plan. The healthcare industry is complex and equipment and specialties vary greatly in price, even for the same procedures. Our Health plan currently addresses the issue of vastly different prices through Site of Service and Preferred Providers as well. Through Site of Service, preferred locations for Lab/Pathology/Radiology carry a low co-pay while non-preferred locations carry a hefty 20% to 40% co-pay. The Preferred Providers is an incentive program which could lead to the co-pay being waived. In the same way, SmartShopper provides a “reward” if you utilize their service in selecting a location for medical services.
The process is fairly simply, create an account either by phone (1-844-328-1579) or visit VitalsSmartShopper.com. When you need a medical procedure or screening, contact SmartShopper. A SmartShopper “Personal Assistant” will help you select a location and set up the appointment. This process will generate a “code” which will prompt a reward to be mailed out once the claim is paid by the insurance company.
The SmartShopper plan is an optional piece of our Healthcare plan. It is there if you want to earn rewards for the procedures and screenings you may need and can provide a large cost savings to the State’s overall healthcare expenses.
If you want to try it out, visit www.vitalssmartshopper.com