Transparency Puts the Consumer Back into Health Care Consumerism
While many in the health care industry continue to look for ways to reduce patient costs, the statistics still tell a different story.
Health care consumers are forced to deal with cost ranges unlike anything they encounter when purchasing other goods and services. And most often, they’re making decisions without adequate information.
Take mammograms or vasectomies, for example. These services can be charged at a wide array of price points, which depend upon whether the service is performed at a hospital or specialty center, what medical team is needed, and even where a consumer resides.
But if a consumer knew ahead of time that prices for the same treatment can vary by thousands of dollars depending on who’s providing the service, what would that enable them to do?
Our CEO Matthew Marek wrote an opinion article for BenefitsPRO, in which he points to a Harvard Business Review article that states that when consumers apply pressure on any industry – from banking to retailing – “it invariably produces a surge of innovation that increases productivity, reduces prices, improves quality and expands choices.” He goes on to say that health care will be no exception.
