Comments on: Patients Sharing HC Experiences & Cost http://georgevanantwerp.com/2007/09/14/patients-sharing-hc-experiences-cost/ Topics Of Interest In Healthcare & Communications Mon, 21 May 2012 13:27:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Patrick Frisbie http://georgevanantwerp.com/2007/09/14/patients-sharing-hc-experiences-cost/#comment-364 Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:14:16 +0000 http://patientadvocate.wordpress.com/2007/09/14/patients-sharing-hc-experiences-cost/#comment-364 One of our precepts is we want the true price of services – the actual amount paid to the provider. Many times “true prices” are difficult to obtain. Hospitals publish list prices that are wildly inflated and often are 2 or 3 times higher than what insurance companies actually pay. Doctors and out-patient facilities many times cannot determine the price of a service until the claim has been submitted and processed by the insurance carrier. Lack of price transparency inhibits marketplace efficiencies and prevents price competition.

So with the goal of “true prices” we are consolidating prices from patients’ actual visits (ala user-generated content), government databases (CMS), state hospital associations, and claim data from participating claim administrators.

Armed with the “true price” consumers will be empowered to manage their healthcare spending, negotiate with providers and evaluate insurance plans.

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