Question 1

Why does a blank field say not established instead of $0?

Accepted Answer

Because they are different claims. A blank means no published page establishes the figure at the check date. A zero means a provider states there is no charge. Recording an unknown membership as $0 would silently make a program look cheaper and would also raise its price-completeness score.

Question 2

Why publish a monthly figure at all if programs do not bill monthly?

Accepted Answer

Because a per-visit charge and a 28-day cycle cannot be compared otherwise. The monthly figure is always labeled as derived, and the charge as billed is shown next to it. The derived number is never presented as the amount taken each month.

Question 3

What does a 28-day billing cycle actually cost over a year?

Accepted Answer

Thirteen charges, not twelve. Twelve 28-day cycles cover 336 days, so the annual cost of an $89 cycle (Winona's recorded charge) is about $1,161 rather than $1,068. Every derived figure in the guide uses 365.25 days divided by 12 across the cycle, which produces 13.04 charges a year.

Question 4

What is an all-in monthly figure, and when is it withheld?

Accepted Answer

It is the recurring charge plus a separate membership plus any priced required fee. It is withheld whenever a required fee has no published amount, because adding a blank as zero would understate the bill. The row then shows the known charges and says so.

Question 5

How is a membership that is already inside the plan price recorded?

Accepted Answer

As included, with the stated amount shown in brackets, and it is never added a second time. Evernow's $49 membership sits inside its own $49 monthly charge, so the record carries one recurring figure and the membership column reads included ($49/mo) rather than adding another $49 on top.

Question 6

Why is there only one ranked page?

Accepted Answer

Because several ranked lists would let a reader infer that a program which places differently on each one has no clear position. Every other list on the site is alphabetical and says so on the page. Filters on the ranked page never re-rank.

Question 7

What does the Buyer Guide Score measure?

Accepted Answer

A 75-to-100 index. Every listed record starts at 75, which is what inclusion is worth: a readable pricing page, a sourced charge and a check date. The remaining 25 points come from five published components: price level (7), price completeness (8), required fees priced (4), terms on record (4) and transparency (2). Completeness carries the heaviest weight because a program that publishes a derivable all-in figure for every offer it sells has done the thing this guide measures. The commitment point goes to a record stating there is no minimum term; a stated lock-in earns nothing, since naming a 12-month condition is not the same as publishing a price. It measures how completely a program publishes its charges, not how good the treatment is. Nothing clinical enters the formula.

Question 8

Is a compounded preparation the same as a branded one?

Accepted Answer

No. A compounded preparation is not an FDA-approved finished product and is not interchangeable with a branded one, even where the active ingredient is the same. The guide records which is which on every offer and never uses the difference as a selling point.

Question 9

A program changed its price. What happens to the record?

Accepted Answer

The record is rechecked and the new figure is entered with a new check date. If the change explains a score movement, it is logged on the corrections page with the previous value. Records are corrected, not overwritten in place.

Question 10

Does the guide say which treatment is right for me?

Accepted Answer

No. Nothing here is medical advice, and no page recommends a treatment, ranks one clinically, or tells a reader which medicine to take. Whether a treatment is appropriate is a decision for a licensed clinician. Some pages carry background information about a preparation, such as what a patch is or why progesterone is commonly prescribed alongside estradiol, and that background is labeled as such rather than presented as advice. The guide's own output is a record of what a program charges and what a buyer commits to.

The billing questions, answered against the record model

Ten dated answers