Twila Brase, RN and president/co-founder of the Citizens' Council for Health Freedom, tells AFN about The Wedge of Health Freedom project.
"We're trying to build a parallel system of cash-based practices, eventually cash-based hospitals," she begins. "With that, we want real insurance, the indemnity kind of insurance that pays you cash so then you are always aware of every bill, every price, every cost, and you ask the questions, and they have the answers. Right now, you might ask the question, but they don't tell you the complete answer, and then you get this surprise bill."
Last week, The Wall Street Journal published an article about the billions in "facility" fees that hospitals are adding for routine care.
"This is not fair," Ohio resident Tim Ebel told the Journal. "This is not how you bring down medical costs in this country."
Conversely, with The Wedge of Health Freedom, every price is transparent, and every bill is known about in advance.
"There are no surprises, no unexpected costs, and usually, the costs are closer to the pocketbook of the individual than when there's a large third-party payer paying it directly," Brase asserts. "It's better for the insurer to pay the patient, and then the patient decides where they want the money to go, whether it's worth the cost, how much am I going to have to pay. Everything becomes transparent and much more affordable."
JoinTheWedge.com features an interactive map where people can learn about the Wedge practices available in their state.
