Web site would let consumers compare costs of operations
Boston Globe - United States
… A search for the cost of the same prescription for Flonase allergy nasal spray … Lischko said she hopes to have the additional information online as soon as the …
Internet shoppers in Massachusetts could soon add chest X-rays, ultrasounds and tonsillectomies to their virtual shopping carts under a key provision of the state’s ambitious new health care reform law.
One of the goals of the new law is to drive down the cost of health care in part by arming consumers with the ability to compare prices on everything from asthma inhalers to Caesarean sections.
The law requires the state to set up a Web site that not only allows consumers to compare the quality of hospitals and clinics, but would also include the average payment each charges for a range of services, including office visits, diagnostic tests, surgeries and other therapies.
“Most consumers who go in for a mammography or testing or radiology have no information on the quality or price,” said Amy Lischko, commissioner of the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy. “If you have to pay a 20 percent co-payment you are going to be very interested in looking at those prices.”
The state already runs a Web site that includes some information — with major loopholes.
Instead of listing an actual average dollar amount for an operation or procedure, the site only lists whether a hospital is among the most expensive, middle or least expensive when compared to others.
The new Web site will have prices, not only for hospitals, but for the cost of prescriptions at individual pharmacies. That should be helpful those who want to compare prices, especially in non-emergency situations. link