The growing effort to involve consumers in reducing health-care costs has been stymied by the fact that most people just don't know what medical care costs. Aetna Inc. plans to make available online the exact prices it has negotiated with Cincinnati-area doctors for hundreds of medical procedures and tests. The price schedules include every Cincinnati-area primary-care physician or specialist in Aetna's network, and prices for 600 common services for which the Hartford, Conn.-based insurer receives medical claims. For instance, an internist in the University of Cincinnati area charges Aetna or its members $161.32 for a visit from a new patient with moderate to severe problems, while another physician a few blocks away charges $132.23 for the same office visit. The first doctor also charges $41.89 for a chest X-ray taken from two angles, while the latter's price is $34.34.
- Why do prices vary from doctor to doctor?
- How will health care markets improve if patients know what doctors are charging for services?
- What other issues are important in determining your choice of doctor? Is price all that matters?
- Do you think that it is possible to get the right information to consumers when they need it? Why or why not?