Health care in America: Shopping around for surgery

With Americans spending $2.6 trillion on health care in 2010, you would think most people would know how much treatment would cost and be able to compare prices before going under the knife. Turns out that is so far from the truth it's not funny.

Barack Obama’s health reform requires hospitals to list standard prices each year, and while more than 30 states have either proposed or passed laws to promote price transparency, according to the GAO, few provide enough data to allow people to make a complete price comparison. And believe it or not it has a lot to do with health insurance.  If Insurance company A pays $x for a procedure in one hospital, but $y for the same procedure in another hospital - why would they let that information out of the bag? Answer they wouldn't. So employers are asking their employees to think about costs.

Health care in America: Shopping around for surgery | The Economist

Most American workers receive health insurance through their employers. They typically shoulder the costs without realising it. The more a company spends on health insurance, the less is left over to pay wages.

Under “consumer-driven health plans”, workers must cough up part of the price of any treatment before their insurance coverage kicks in. Most have an untaxed account to spend on health; they think twice before depleting it. In 2006 only 10% of workers had to pay at least $1,000 before their insurer picked up the rest of the bill. By 2010 that share had more than tripled.

Transparency across health insurance is going to take some time (if it ever comes into being) but it is still worth asking the questions.