Employers: Open Enrollment Season is Coming Up
The second half of the year is already well underway, and open enrollment season will be here before you know it. For employers, this means working closely with health insurance brokers and carriers to find, create, update, customize, and negotiate health plans for your employees and their families. And while health plans provide coverage for a variety of needs, two specific services that are growing in demand are MRI scans and CT scans.
MRI and CT utilization rates have continued to rise over recent years — despite efforts to reduce unnecessary scans and expand patient education. A study involving over 135 million imaging exams between 2000 and 2016 found that medical imaging use, especially MRI and CT scans, reaccelerated for patients in two groups: 1) 18-64 and 2) ≥65. A number of factors have played a role in this increase, including an aging population, a higher rate of cancer diagnoses, and more.
Whether you offer health plans through carriers for employees or are a self-insured employer, it’s important that you factor CT and MRI costs into your health plan design.
Learn more about MRI scans — and the truth behind common myths surrounding them.
Multiple Factors Influence CT and MRI Costs in a Health Plan
- Overall Coverage — Depending on your carrier or broker, the number of employees you have, the number of employees that enroll (and re-enroll from past years), your cost sharing, and your premium contribution preferences, coverage for MRI and CT scans can be affected — thereby impacting their costs.
- Network Access — While in-network hospitals and providers will offer CT and MRI scans, choosing or offering a plan with a broader network opens up more options for comparing CT and MRI costs.
- Pre-authorization — During open enrollment, it’s important to consider your health plan’s pre-authorization requirements. The last thing you want is your employees navigating excessive complexity or wait times when they need medical imaging services for a health concern.
- Deductibles — If you’re considering offering a high-deductible health plan, or HDHP, employees benefit from a lower premium but incur a higher deductible. Because CTs and MRIs generally carry a high price tag, offering more affordable options will keep their out-of-pocket contained and manageable.
- Preventive Scans — Some health insurance plans may cover preventive CT and MRI scan costs, which can help you as an employer better manage your long-term costs.
If controlling costs is part of your healthcare strategy in the coming year, consider plans and providers that make medical imaging accessible — and affordable.
Get answers to your questions: Explore our frequently asked questions for employers.
Lumina: Your Solution for Quality Medical Imaging
While we believe you as an employer should opt for health plans that make CT and MRI scans accessible and affordable for employees and their families, we understand that you have goals for your health plan and need to make the right choice for your business. Fortunately, Lumina Imaging & Diagnostics offers ideal medical imaging solutions for your employees — whether it’s part of your plan or not. Here’s how.
- We offer flat-fee pricing for MRIs and CTs — employees won’t pay more than this
- We work with most major insurance plans, so employees’ costs may be lower
- Our pricing is just a portion of the average scan cost at major healthcare systems
- In Northeast Ohio, our scans are considered in-network for all major networks
- No pre-authorization is required for our scans
And that’s just how we help make CT and MRI scan costs in a new health plan easy to utilize. We go above and beyond for our patients in numerous other ways:
- We offer same and next-day appointments with easy mobile check-in
- Our equipment hospital-grade, ensuring accurate readings and images
- Scans are read by experienced, trained and certified radiologists
- Results are provided within 24 hours so patients can keep moving
- Our locations are easy to access with free off-street parking
- We prioritize comfort with calm interiors, patients’ favorite music, and more
When open enrollment season comes this year, ensure that you’re providing your employees with affordable, high-quality MRI and CT scan solutions. Connect with us today to learn more about how we can support your healthcare goals and those of your employees.
