Price comparisons--- for medical procedures

There are price comparisons for everything we purchase --- which is only natural because we want to purchase items/services at the best possible price (everyone loves a bargain). This is why sites like Froogle.com, shopping.com and shopzilla.com exist.

If we have to pay more and more out of pocket expenses for procedures we have to undergo, shouldn't we be able to compare prices and choose where we want to have the procedure (such as X-rays or CT scans?). Where in our lives do we just hand over our credit cards and say "charge it"—no matter what the cost? (ok, some people do this-- but either they have the money to do this or they're not fiscally responsible). With the economy where it is (and where it’s going) most of us can’t afford to do this.

We guess it would be "ok" if the prices for each procedure where fixed so that no matter where you go, what insurance you had, the price was the same for a certain procedure (ie. an X-ray would be the same price at hospital X and hospital Y--- and the price would be the same whether you had insurance A or insurance B). Unfortunately, this isn't the case. According to The New York Times article, "Bargaining Down That CT Scan Is Suddenly Possible," " the average provider — doctors or hospitals — has between 5 and 100 reimbursement rates for the exact same procedure. A hospital chain with multiple locations may have 150 rates for the same procedure."

Why is it so complicated?

Because each insurance health plan (more than 6,000) has a distinct reimbursement schedule the parent insurance company negotiated with the nation's 850,000 providers.

Considering healthcare costs are on the rise and it is already estimated that 12% of adults has out of pocket medical expenses greater than 5% of their annual income, there should be a better way to know how much you are paying for something --before you get that dreaded bill. Online companies with knowledge of the negotiated prices reimbursed by the insurance companies, are already tapping into this opportunity by providing the consumer an opportunity to lower their medical bill (the company itself would negotiate a lower fee for the procedure). Then there are the other online companies who try to estimate the fees negotiated by extrapolating the data from Medicare. Even the local hospital associations are starting to provide the information--"just this month, the Georgia Hospital Association started a Web site listing fees of common medical procedures at each of the state's 141 acute-care hospitals."

Many may say giving this type of information is hurtful for the consumer because the consumer would naturally want to have the procedure where they can get it the cheapest -- which may not be the best place. First of all, the procedures would be performed by hospitals and doctors qualified and certified to perform such procedures. Secondly, consumers know that a diamond ring bought at Kmart is not the same quality and caliber as, say, a ring bought at Tiffany & Co. However, they still want to be able to make that choice.

Where will this all end?

Hopefully with the consumer being empowered to make informed decisions.