Comparing Prices for Medical Care

Yet another presidential press conference is over and America still has no information on exactly what the health care reform plan is, how much it will cost, or how the cost will be paid. We, as a nation, know nothing more about health care reform after the press conference than we did before it began.

Perhaps, however, President Obama was giving us a clue when he spoke about health care reform being necessary to control medical services and medical costs. Could he have meant that the government will, in part, control the services offered and the pricing—and therefore, the entire health care industry--of the medical professionals, the medical facilities, and the medical insurance companies?

It suggests a question: Isn’t there a much more economical manner by which to increase competition in the medical field and, therefore reduce medical expenses without the government purchasing and controlling the health care industry?

We diligently review the sale ads in the Sunday paper, comparing the price of paper towels, frozen vegetables, or the price per pound of ground beef. Before purchasing a home or a vehicle, we spend months comparing prices and locations and the options available.

Yet, we do not compare the cost-per-visit of one doctor to that of another. Why? Why do we not compare the cost of an x-ray or a CAT Scan, or a blood draw at a particular location verses nearby competitors. Perhaps it has been, in part, because the doctors send us to one particular location and we never question why. Perhaps it has been because the insurance companies dictate which medical facilities can be used by policyholders or patients of a particular doctor. Perhaps, it is simply because the pricing information has never been made public.

When was the last time you saw a piece of paper or an overhead neon sign stating the cost of any particular visit or medical test prior to being billed? We wouldn’t buy a meal at a restaurant without first knowing the price; we wouldn’t buy a new pair of jeans without knowing about how much we would spend at the register; we wouldn’t purchase gasoline not knowing the cost-per-gallon; so, why do we purchase medical care, visits and testing and hospital stays, without first learning of the cost and comparing that cost to that of the competitors during our non-emergencies?

Perhaps health care costs are so expensive not because of the insurance companies or the new technology, but because we, as medical consumers, have not been diligent in demanding to know the costs, and then comparison shopping when there is no emergency to make the decision for us.

Everyone would rather have good medical care as compared to simply the cheapest care available, but isn’t it feasible that if medical professionals and medical facilities were forced to publicize the costs of their services that this new knowledge for the consumer would, through competition, drive down medical costs? Facilities and medical professionals providing poor service will, in time, be weeded out and passed over like a fad diet plan that people realize does not work. So, there seems to be no risk in the patients being allowed to compare prices for health care and taking this information into consideration when choosing a personal physician or a location for surgery, etc.

After all, if there were two local physicians, equal in the quality of care they provide, why become the patient of one who charges $100 for an office visit as opposed to $50? If two hospitals provide equally comfortable and appropriate care to the patients, why stay at the one that charges $100 for an aspirin or $40 for a pillow when the other may offer more economical prices for the same care?

In emergencies, a patient wants knowledgeable professionals to do what needs to be done, regardless of the cost. But, most medical visits and treatments are not emergencies, providing us with time to make a decision based on our experiences with a particular medical facility or professional, our location in reference to a medical professional, our particular medical needs, and our finances—if we were only provided with the information.

And, it could all be done without a multi-trillion dollar health care reform bill that would unfairly tax the rich and remove basic American freedoms by controlling the individual health care choices of doctors and patients. What if the government decided that a particular medical test or a particular medical treatment was simply too expensive to allow even though the treating physician felt it necessary? Or, that you or your loved one was unworthy of receiving medical treatment?

Being able to compare the costs of medical services and make our own decisions regarding medical care instead of having the government make those decisions for us sounds like an alternative path that, when working with additional necessary health care reforms, might be a positive change.