A Giant Step Forward: New Hampshire Leads the Way!

How can you be a wise consumer when you have no way of finding out the cost of even a simple medical procedure ahead of time?

Last winter one of our CPA clients asked for our assistance in finding out the cost for an MRI. She had a prescription for the procedure and had identified 3 quality providers who were on Blue Shield’s list; she wanted to find out what her cost would be with each of these providers.

The providers themselves would give only a range of retail prices. When we contacted Blue Shield, the legal department informed us that contracts with providers prohibited them from disclosing negotiated pricing information.There was no way to compare prices among quality providers!

The state of New Hampshire has changed the rules! New Hampshire has launched a website, NHhealthcosts.org.

The site makes it possible for consumers to compare the costs of health procedures at different medical centers based on individual demographics and insurance coverage. For example, residents of Manchester, the largest city, can compare the costs of that MRI at 6 facilities within 20 miles with prices ranging from $1000 to $2400. An employer section enables companies to compare carriers by average premium, loss ratio, and benefits richness. 

We urge you to take a look at what we hope will act as a model for a new standard of transparency in health care pricing. Let’s urge our California legislators to follow New Hampshire’s lead and set up a similar website in California.

You may also be interested in visiting healthcare.gov, the new website designed to help Americans understand the new health reform legislation and their current health coverage options.This site will continue to expand as reform is implemented and become the central government resource for health care information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Janet Fairchild]

Susan -

I had no idea medical providers were still engaging in such anti-competitive practices! California lawyers were forced to stop similar practices some 35 years ago by an anti-trust suit.

I believe that any such practice is an antitrust violation, but new legislation will take care of it just as well as a lawsuit. Our next few years with healthcare are going to be very productive.