USA Today Examines Challenges of Comparing Health Services Prices To Find Best Deal
USA Today on Tuesday examined how many government and industry officials are "urging Americans to become better 'shoppers' for health care" in an effort to increase competition in the health care marketplace and reduce the cost of care. However, U.S. consumers face challenges in obtaining reliable quality and pricing data with which to compare health care services, according to USA Today. While quality information is available for some hospitals and procedures, it is rarely available for individual doctors, USA Today reports. Pricing data generally are of little use to U.S. consumers because they reflect average charges instead of actual negotiated rates. Critics of the effort to make U.S. residents better health care consumers say the industry "might never be a true marketplace," in part because the most expensive health care decisions generally are made by sick, scared patients in emergency situations, USA Today reports (Appleby, USA Today, 5/9). USA Today on Tuesday also examined some insurers' efforts to provide quality information. The article includes profiles of UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Aetna and HealthMarkets (USA Today, 5/9).
This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
