Last September, Carter Express, a logistic, freight and transport firm based in Anderson, Ind., accomplished something that every self-insured employer wants to do. It saved 23% on an employee’s surgery for prostate cancer. Plus, not only did the company spend nearly $12,000 less, but the employee was happy with his surgical experience.
How did Carter do it? The previous year Carter signed on to BridgeHealth International’s domestic medical travel program. The employee/patient traveled from Indiana to Denver, where the hospital charged less for the cancer surgery than a local hospital would have charged, says Brandy Clark, a staff accountant with Carter. BridgeHealth negotiated the lower price for the employee’s prostate cancer surgery at a Denver hospital and arranged the travel for the patient and a companion. Now that the ice has been broken, Clark expects more of Carter’s employees and covered family members will take advantage of the program.
