Private clinics come up with new ranks of doctors to raise prices
Insurers warned that VHI policies are becoming more expensive due to internal ratings of medical centers, and patients are forced to overpay for high-profile titles.
Private medical centers in Russia have found a new way to justify the rise in prices for their services. As it became known, large networks began to introduce their own, internal categories for doctors. This directly affects the total cost of admission and terms of service under voluntary health insurance policies (VHI).
According to a recent study by insurance broker Nobilis, which surveyed 15 of the largest medical networks in the country, the standard classification of the Ministry of Health is no longer enough for clinics. Now in price lists and on sites are increasingly found such high-profile titles as “lead specialist”, “doctor-expert”, “head of department” or “doctor of science”. Naturally, the consultation of such an “expert” will cost a patient or an insurance company much more than an ordinary admission.
Insurers are already warning about the negative consequences. The widespread use of this practice will inevitably lead to a further increase in the cost of VHI policies. In fact, medical organizations thus mask the increase in prices for improving the quality of service.
The Nobilis report did not disclose the names of the clinics. And representatives of medical giants such as “Medsi”, “Mother and Child”, “Medskan”, European Medical Center (EMC) and “SM-clinic”, from official comments on this matter preferred to refrain.
