People comparison shop for all kinds of things, yet because of an opaque health care system where prices are not known to consumers and are furthermore complicated by the dance between providers and health insurance companies, we tend to just accept what the doctor ordered. And sometimes, that’s multiple tests and procedures you don’t necessarily need but that provide financial incentives to health care providers. Barbara Kiviat, an editor at Time magazine, reported, “I recently went to a doctor and asked how much my office visit and X-ray would cost. Staffers told me that they didn’t know and, since I have insurance, I shouldn’t care.” But she did care, and most consumers do too; we just felt we didn’t have any options. That and, as Kiviat points out, “If you don’t know what something costs, you can’t know if it costs too much.”
The Transparency in All Health Care Pricing Act of 2010 is a bill currently in Congress, and its goal is to fill in some of these blanks by finally requiring health care providers, including hospitals, physicians, nurses, pharmacies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, dentists and insurers, to post prices at their place of business as well as on the Internet. But until the bill passes, PriceDoc.com has made an effort to level the playing field by allowing consumers to comparison shop for medical and elective procedures offered by providers in your area. Some list their lowest price, others allow you some negotiation, and some tell you to make them an offer, a la Priceline.com.
Contrary to what people may think, consumers do have the ability to affect the cost of health procedures to a degree. Over the last decade, the price of LASIK has dropped 30%, even with inflation factored in, according to the Center for Studying Health System Change. Because an estimate for the procedure could be obtained over the phone, consumers were able to shop around and soon became aware that LASIK could be had for less than the initial price point. But of course, there has to be a balance between price and quality, which is where PriceDoc comes in. There are provider profiles and referrals from fellow physicians, and Good Morning America’s financial reporter Melanie Hobson, who recommended using PriceDoc.com as a way to save money on health care, suggests having your primary care physician review your short list of choices. Tulay Kent, DDS, a Seattle provider on PriceDoc.com, says she likes that patients know a lot about her before they come from having reviewed her credentials and testimonials online.
Another good reason to use PriceDoc.com is to bridge any insurance gaps your current coverage may have. If you have a high deductible to meet, you’ve exhausted your insurance coverage for the year or you don’t have any insurance at all, you may be better off with a discounted procedure via PriceDoc. So to comparison shop, make an offer and find out more about the physicians you’re considering going to, log on to www.pricedoc.com today!
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