In 2018, they started denying claims for imaging procedures performed in a hospital radiology department, citing the same cost-related benefits. Large hospitals have large overhead, and the patient ends up paying for that.Īnthem, which is the second-largest insurer in the country, was first to institute a similar policy change. In an article published in USA Today, freestanding centers have the luxury of keeping their costs down because they are providing more focused services, maintaining smaller staff and overhead, and are not required to remain open around the clock every day. If you're wondering why it is that the cost discrepancy is so extreme, the answer has to do simply with size.
And according to one analysis, MRI and CT exams could cost an upward of 149% more at a hospital, compared to a freestanding center.
Company officials at Cigna said that some patients could save as much as $1,000 in out-of-pocket expenses for imaging services by opting to visit a freestanding center. Imaging services, specifically MRI and CT, provided in a hospital can cost up to 3 to 5 times as much as the same service provided in a freestanding center.
The insurer, which is the fourth-largest in the nation, advised its members that freestanding imaging centers offer members a lower cost for medically necessary, non-emergent imaging procedures.Īs diagnostic imaging procedures become more advanced and more crucial in healthcare planning while conversely, costs for healthcare continue to rise, freestanding imaging centers emerge as the solid choice for patients looking for cost cutting, convenience and expertise. As of August 1, 2020, Cigna officially stopped covering most hospital-based MR and CT imaging procedures.