As
a consumer advocate for health care price transparency, I run across dozens of articles
every month that demonstrate every day examples of the disparity in what consumers
pay for health care services. The articles
all provide specific examples of how prices can vary widely for the exact same service
in the same area. This is a wake-up call
for consumers. The conclusion is always
the same -- consumers can and should shop
around to find the best price for routine health care services before visiting a provider.
Saving
hundreds of dollars on a medical procedure using a high quality provider is possible
and the tools to make comparison shopping practical for consumers are starting to
evolve. Before you schedule your next
appointment for a lab test, MRI, x-ray, mammogram, colonoscopy, or eye/dental exam,
make sure you a little research and shop around to find the best value.
A Tribune-Review
investigation exploring health care costs finds the price for identical medical
procedures differs widely across the United States, not only by region, but even within
the same hospital or clinic. Cost also depends on who pays -- an insurer, Medicare
or the consumer -- and the differences can amount to thousands of dollars. This article
reveals the disparity for an MRI ranging in price from as low as $300 in South Florida
to $3100 for the exact same MRI in Texas. A
routine cholesterol test at a national lab was only $11 and the same lab test at a
San Francisco hospital was $150. You do
the math.
As a consumer advocate for health care price transparency, I run across dozens of articles every month that demonstrate every day examples of the disparity in what consumers pay for health care services. The articles all provide specific examples of how prices can vary widely for the exact same service in the same area. This is a wake-up call for consumers. The conclusion is always the same -- consumers can and should shop around to find the best price for routine health care services before visiting a provider. Saving hundreds of dollars on a medical procedure using a high quality provider is possible and the tools to make comparison shopping practical for consumers are starting to evolve. Before you schedule your next appointment for a lab test, MRI, x-ray, mammogram, colonoscopy, or eye/dental exam, make sure you a little research and shop around to find the best value. A Tribune-Review investigation exploring health care costs finds the price for identical medical procedures differs widely across the United States, not only by region, but even within the same hospital or clinic. Cost also depends on who pays -- an insurer, Medicare or the consumer -- and the differences can amount to thousands of dollars. This article reveals the disparity for an MRI ranging in price from as low as $300 in South Florida to $3100 for the exact same MRI in Texas. A routine cholesterol test at a national lab was only $11 and the same lab test at a San Francisco hospital was $150. You do the math.