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Healthmarkets Poll: Few Americans Discuss Healthcare Costs with Doctors

HealthMarkets poll also finds those who do inquire often get more affordable health care

North Richland Hills, Texas – December 19, 2007 – Americans agree health care costs too much, but relatively few patients talk to their doctors about costs or ask for a discount, a new HealthMarkets (http://www.healthmarkets.com) survey shows. Of those who did ask for a lower rate from their doctor, more than half – 55 percent -- report that they succeeded in getting a lower bill.

The poll, sponsored by HealthMarkets, found that only one out of three Americans say they have discussed health care treatment costs with a doctor in the past five years. Fewer still – 17 percent – specifically asked for a lower price.

“Consumers routinely negotiate the cost of a car, home or services like those from a real estate agent or lender,” said Peter Gaillard, HealthMarkets Vice President of Product Development. “But when it comes to health care prices, Americans seem to have lost the will to shop.”

HealthMarkets is a leading provider of affordable health and life insurance to the self-employed, individuals, small businesses and Medicare beneficiaries through its subsidiaries, The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee and The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company. CareOne Select plans – offered by HealthMarkets’ insurance subsidiaries in selected markets – offer tools to let consumers see and compare relative costs for providers to maximize value and minimize out-of-pocket costs.

The most likely patients to ask for a lower price are those between the ages of 18 and 34 -- 21 percent asked for a lower price, the HealthMarkets poll found. The least likely are those between 35 and 54 (14 percent). Sixteen percent of those 55 and over said they had asked for a lower price.

People with lower incomes and less education are more likely to negotiate with their doctor over the price of care. Only 14 percent of college graduates asked for a lower price, while 23 percent of those with a high school education or less did. One out of 5 (21 percent) of those with an income less than $50,000 a year negotiated. Half as many -- 10 percent -- with incomes of $75,000 or more said they have negotiated health care costs.

Americans gave several reasons for not asking their doctor for lower priced care. More than half (58 percent) said they were unaware that prices may be negotiable, while 52 percent cited the inability to compare prices. One in three (31 percent) don’t think health care costs should be negotiable. Middle and upper income households in particular said the inability to compare costs is a barrier.

A wide majority of Americans say health care costs too much. Seven out of 10 Americans said the average $11,000 cost to insure a family of four is more than it should be. Nearly half (49 percent) said it is “much more” than it should be.

Nevertheless, two in three polled said they usually don’t know how much a treatment will cost them out-of-pocket until they receive the bill.

The vast majority (83 percent) said it would be helpful to know what their out-of-pocket cost for a treatment will be before they receive the bill.

Results are based on telephone interviews conducted among a sample of 1,043 adults (530 men and 513 women) 18 years of age and older, in the continental United States. Interviews were weighted by four variables: age, sex, geographic region, and race, to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total adult population. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points for the entire sample. Smaller sub-groups will have larger error margins.

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About HealthMarkets

HealthMarkets, headquartered in North Richland Hills, Texas, is a provider of health and life insurance products to individuals, families, the self-employed and small businesses. HealthMarkets offers products and services through its licensed insurance subsidiaries The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company (https://www.megainsurance.com/) Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee (https://www.midwestlife.com/) and The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company (https://www.chesapeakeins.com/). The Company’s offerings include individual and self-employed health insurance, small employer group health insurance, life insurance and reinsurance. Through its Consumer Guided Health Insurance plans, HealthMarkets seeks to provide affordable and accessible health coverage to individuals and small businesses. The Company is owned by a group of private equity investors, including affiliates of The Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, members of management and the Company’s independent, licensed agents through the Company’s agent stock accumulation plans. For more information, visit http://www.healthmarkets.com.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995:

Some of the matters discussed in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements are intended to be identified in this document by the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "objective," "plan," "possible," "potential" and similar expressions. Actual results may vary materially from those included in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions; the continued ability of the Company to compete for customers and insureds in an industry where many of its competitors may have greater market share and/or greater financial resources; the Company’s ability to accurately estimate medical claims and control costs; changes in government regulation that could increase the costs of compliance or cause the Company to discontinue marketing its products in certain states; the Company’s failure to comply with new or existing government regulations that could subject it to significant fines and penalties and/or result in restrictions on its operations; changes in the relationship between the Company and the membership associations that make available to their members the health insurance and other insurance products issued by the Company’s insurance subsidiaries; changes in the laws and regulations governing so-called “association group” insurance (particularly changes that would subject the issuance of policies to prior premium rate approval and/or require the issuance of policies on a “guaranteed issue” basis); significant liabilities and costs associated with litigation; failure of the Company’s information systems to provide timely and accurate information; negative publicity regarding the Company’s business practices and/or regarding the health insurance industry in general; the Company’s inability to enter into or maintain satisfactory relationships with networks of hospitals, physicians, dentists, pharmacies and other health care providers; failure of the Company’s regulated insurance company subsidiaries to maintain their current ratings by A.M. Best Company, Fitch and/or Standard & Poor’s; and the other risk factors set forth in the reports filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Media Contacts:

Donna Ledbetter
HealthMarkets Corporate Communications
(817) 255-5405
Donna.Ledbetter@healthmarkets.com
www.HealthMarkets.com

Doug Holt
For HealthMarkets
(312) 596-3487
Doug.Holt@bm.com