So you need an EKG and you wonder what it’s going to cost you? If you’re in Southern California, you can just click over to the Web site of HealthCare Partners Medical Group, which has listed the out-of-pocket prices for 58 common procedures. By offering price information about medical services, the mammoth medical group, which serves more than 500,000 Californians, gives its patients the opportunity to be more discerning consumers of health care.
EKG? $45. Colonoscopy? $424. Chest X-ray? $61.
Of course, to make informed decisions on purchasing health care, consumers need to look beyond sticker prices. The HealthCare Partners Web site makes the job easier by allowing patients to quickly and easily access studies — government and non-profit — that offer information on how the group stacks up against local competitors (Hint: It usually comes out ahead).
Self-congratulatory? Yes. Useful for people? Absolutely.
Transparent pricing isn’t the be-all of health care. The physician or hospital with the lowest prices isn’t necessarily the best deal. Not, for instance, if they’re likely to order up unnecessary tests and pump up the final bill.
Comparison shopping for medical care isn’t easy, particularly if you don’t have an insurer to do some of the work for you. But the chance to make comparisons beats the alternative: knowing little or nothing about the cost and quality of the health care you will receive.
It would be good if more providers went the way of HealthCare Partners Medical Group, giving consumers a better chance to find high-quality, competitively priced care in a crowded marketplace.
