Healthcare Price Transparency: A State and Federal Approach
The following is a white paper on Healthcare Price Transparency by Mike Berger, a first-year master of health administration student at Saint Louis University. Read the full report here: http://www.costsofcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Berger-Price-Transparency-White-Paper.pdf So why is it that we as consumers know considerably more about the prices and quality of the cars that we purchase than we do of the life saving medical procedures that we undergo? Why is it that we can pay $800 for a colonoscopy at one hospital, and $1,500 for a colonoscopy at a different facility down the...
Read MoreAre Patients Ready for Price Transparency?
David Wong, MD is the Co-founder of SnapHealth Within the past few months, both the New England Journal of Medicine and the Institute of Medicine have published articles or put out information that improved price transparency is necessary to help control the costs of healthcare in America. Several companies and organizations including our own are currently working towards that goal of making pricing information easily accessible to the patient — the consumer of healthcare. Yet within the past 5 years there have been several attempts at getting the patient involved in that...
Read MoreTalking to Your Doctor About Health Costs
Jessica Jou is currently a second year medical student at the Tufts University School of Medicine. She grew up in Taiwan where medical insurance is universally provided by the government. While in college, she lead a team of physicians and students to provide healthcare to rural villages in Nepal. They are now in their fifth year of service. And after working with the uninsured population in Boston at the Sharewood Project, she is inspired to empower patients and physicians alike to start the conversation about healthcare costs. In a new brochure developed for patients, medical student...
Read MoreSavvy patient finds hidden discounts just by asking
The following anecdote was written by Suzanne Nesmith, a patient from Arkansas who was a finalist in the 2011 Costs of Care Essay Contest. My husband and I have been self-employed for many years, and though our income is quite limited, we have always been careful with our finances, have always managed to live within our means, and have always paid our bills without assistance. We had private health insurance coverage and saw premium increases each year. Then to avoid further increases, coverage of office visits outside of deductible was dropped, and our deductible was raised to...
Read MorePrice Tags and Haggling in an Exotic Market
Daniela Carusi, MD, MSc is an obstetrician/ gynecologist practicing in Boston, MA A friend of mine recently took an exotic trip. While shopping in a market, she picked up an appealing item and asked the seller what it cost. She was given a price that seemed high, and paused to consider whether the impulse seemed justified. The shopkeeper grew confused in the silence. Finally he asked my friend, “Don’t you want to know if I can do better?” Clearly this person was outside of her bargaining comfort zone. Many – perhaps most – Americans are accustomed to paying the price as written...
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