BlueSky Health, saving time, saving money
By GARRETT NEESE, DMG WriterEditor's note: This is an ongoing series highlighting local businesses taking steps to help consumers stretch their dollar. The Daily Mining Gazette would like to hear from businesses who are interested in being a part of this series. Contact Mark Wilcox at mwilcox@mininggazette.com.
HOUGHTON - With health care costs in an upward spiral, BlueSky Health is trying to make health care affordable for everyone.
The practice, which opened in November 2006, is focused on family medicine covering all ages and all types of problems.
One of the biggest goals, said president and physician Jeffrey Huotari, was to trim the waste from health care - both in terms of costs and in patients' time.
There is reduced pricing for any payer (either patient, insurer or employer) who pays up front at the time of service. In a typical example, a $120 charge would be reduced to $100 if an employer paid, and $59 if a patient paid themselves.
Huotari also works with the patient to develop a treatment plan that is cost-effective.
"If the patient can't afford it, it's not a valid treatment plan," he said.
He works on getting the most cost-effective regimen of drugs through methods such as Wal-Mart's $4 prescription plan.
The deal-shopping works: Huotari said they rarely go over $16 a month for high blood pressure medication, which could run more than $100 a month at other places. CT scans can be up to $100 cheaper.
There are other less obvious savings, too. Huotari said he adapts to patients' needs in scheduling, enabling them to work around the need for a baby sitter. He also offers home visits and plans to expand to online visits.
By offering 24-hour physician access, BlueSky can also cut down on unnecessary visits to the emergency room - "which is where the real costs come in," Huotari said.
"We can triage that problem, and often determine that it's appropriate to wait and see me in the morning rather than go to the ER that night," he said.
By devoting more time to an upfront interview, Huotari said, there's chance of figuring out the problem earlier, saving time and expense on referrals and follow-up visits.
"That's high value in that half-hour," said assistant Leanne Nordstrom.
A list of services and prices is available at http://www.blueskyhealth.org/
"The more transparency there is in our pricing, the easier it is for patients to make sure they get value with their care," Huotari said.
Garrett Neese can be reached at gneese@mininggazette.com
