Home | About Us | News & Resources | Published Articles | Price Transparency
Price Transparency Gains Traction
Imagingbiz.com Newsletter
May 17, 2010
Owing to a confluence of market forces, industry innovation, and government action, consumers in more than half of US states now have at least some ability to see procedure charges in advance. The concept is to apprise patients of their out-of-pocket costs before they schedule appointments. Armed with such information, patients then can comparison shop and decide where to go for the most attractively priced services.
Massachusetts, for instance, shifted to this model of disclosure at the beginning of 2008. Jeff Ronner is CFO of Shields Health Care Group in Quincy (near Boston), which operates 33 imaging centers offering MRI, radiation-oncology, CT, and PET/CT services. Ronner says that one driver behind the push for transparency in Massachusetts was the burgeoning number of recession-hit businesses deciding to replace expensive, low-deductible benefit plans with more affordable, high-deductible insurance. Such plans compel patients to pay large out-of-pocket sums that can add up to several thousand dollars before the insurance company’s contributions begin.
To read the entire article click here.
