Study suggests more transparency will reduce healthcare costs | Wisconsin

(Center Square) – You can enter a restaurant and see the cost of the sandwich. Likewise, when you go to buy a car, a house, or even a shirt, the purchase price is clear. But you don’t know how much it will cost you to go to the doctor.

A new report from the Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty says that a lack of transparency about health care costs actually makes health care more expensive.

“Health care is one of the only sectors in our economy where consumers are expected to purchase a good or service without knowing the final price. Price transparency operates on the theory that pricing information is a vital component of a free market,” the report reads. “Just as we can compare the costs of gasoline at different stations or cars at different dealerships, consumers should be able to compare the cost of common medical procedures with providers in their area.”

The report, written by Miranda Spendt and Will Flanders, said the US health care system was set up to encourage people to shop, even though most people don’t.

“In situations such as sudden illness or accidents, the patient will seek medical care regardless of its cost. Insurance is intended to protect us financially from the cost of this type of catastrophic care,” the authors wrote. “However, approximately 80% of health care goods and services are ‘shopable’ which means that the decision of where to get treatment does not have to be made right away. This includes services like CT scans, blood tests, and psychotherapy. It is the procedures Non-emergency where out-of-pocket pricing information can be available for the consumer to decide where to treat at the best rate.”

The report states that the price range for a CT scan in Wisconsin is between $858 and $2,803.

Will’s report says other states are already moving to announce health care prices.

For example, providers and insurers must provide pricing information within two business days at the request of a patient in Massachusetts. While Alaska and Minnesota require it within 10 business days. In Texas, they have taken it a step further than other states by requiring websites that are easy to use and having stronger application mechanisms,” the report states.

The WILL report recommends new laws or policies in Wisconsin that would implement full price transparency and creative incentives for health care purchases.

“This gives consumers an added incentive to balance cost versus quality for each potential provider,” the report adds.

Originally published at San Jose News Bulletin