As a fan of open markets, I want to agree with your thesis; however, in my experience, when a third party is paying the bill, a patient will 9times out of 10 choose the MOST expensive care. More expensive means more better, right?! We both know it does not, but 9 out of 10 patients believe it does.
Would you rather a Mercedes or a Kia? Your not paying for it, so take whichever you like. Same is true with price transparency in healthcare; Mayo clinic at $2million, or East County General at $450,000, your choice, you aren't paying anyways because your out of pocket is met.
I agree with price transparency, but when a third party pays, we are not in a free market.
You tell it like it is. Here is why transparency helps.
1. 90% of covered lives do not reach their deductible in a given year.
2. The average deductible is $5,200 for a family and $2,100 for an individual.
Why are these two points important? There is a huge market for under $10,000 treatments and services. 15 billion labs are utilised annually and 95% are under $500.
3. Employers use transparency to do direct contracts.
Very good points. Can we say for those who do not spend a lot on healthcare each year, price transparency may be, or is , incentivizing reduced spending; for those who are in great need and spend more than their out of pocket, price transparency incentivizes spending more?
This was my experience when I was in clinical care. Anecdotal evidence, but it was extreme. One example; my patients almost always wanted the most expensive solution available and would tell me I was not fighting for them if I thought the less expensive solution was superior.
As a fan of open markets, I want to agree with your thesis; however, in my experience, when a third party is paying the bill, a patient will 9times out of 10 choose the MOST expensive care. More expensive means more better, right?! We both know it does not, but 9 out of 10 patients believe it does.
Would you rather a Mercedes or a Kia? Your not paying for it, so take whichever you like. Same is true with price transparency in healthcare; Mayo clinic at $2million, or East County General at $450,000, your choice, you aren't paying anyways because your out of pocket is met.
I agree with price transparency, but when a third party pays, we are not in a free market.
You tell it like it is. Here is why transparency helps.
1. 90% of covered lives do not reach their deductible in a given year.
2. The average deductible is $5,200 for a family and $2,100 for an individual.
Why are these two points important? There is a huge market for under $10,000 treatments and services. 15 billion labs are utilised annually and 95% are under $500.
3. Employers use transparency to do direct contracts.
Very good points. Can we say for those who do not spend a lot on healthcare each year, price transparency may be, or is , incentivizing reduced spending; for those who are in great need and spend more than their out of pocket, price transparency incentivizes spending more?
This was my experience when I was in clinical care. Anecdotal evidence, but it was extreme. One example; my patients almost always wanted the most expensive solution available and would tell me I was not fighting for them if I thought the less expensive solution was superior.