Online Pricing Efforts Hit Stumbling Blocks

A number of states, including Wisconsin, Florida, and South Dakota have recently unveiled web sites that include costs for health procedures. Similar efforts have been initiated by some health insurers and a number of other organizations.

The premise of these initiatives is that providing patients with cost information will enable them to make more informed decisions about healthcare by adding cost into the mix of factors that contribute to decision-making.

The current challenges with these web resources is the accuracy of cost information that patients may easily ascertain. The problem entails at least two separate factors: out-of-pocket costs and lack of complete cost information.

Delineating individual out-of-pocket costs is complex considering the huge variety of insurance plans available. Deductibles and co-pays are the primary factors determining the total cost for each patient. Current websites don’t include specific insurance related information about such into their calculations, making patients responsible for the computation of actual costs that will be their responsibility.

Also noted is the lack of complete cost information on the sites about procedures themselves. One example is a blood test. The cost for the test itself, the laboratory analysis of the specimen, is delineated. Other relevant costs, including the price for the needle required to obtain the blood specimen, were not documented.

Other considerations describing online pricing endeavors are detailed in an article recently published in the Chicago Tribune.

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