Shopping for HealthCare Services Not Easy Due to Lack of Publicly Available Information on Quality and Value
Study Finds Most State Websites Aimed at Transparency in Healthcare Pricing Inaccurate and Basically Useless in Helping Consumers Shop for Services
With growth in high-deductible health plans, healthcare is becoming increasingly consumer-driven. But shopping for healthcare services isn’t easy due to lack of available resources that enable consumers to compare price and quality, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealed the arbitrary nature of hospital prices by publishing hospital-specific costs and outcomes data for 3,000 hospitals nationwide, according to a report published by Dark Daily. This step towards full transparency is aimed at helping consumers comparative shop for hospitals based on both quality and value.
