Risa Lavizzo-Mourey required cataract surgery in late year 2014 and needed to know how much the routine process would cost. Her doctor and his billing office didn’t know, and she never got the answer.
“Could there be a clearer instance of the deficiency of transparency in the US health care systems?” she inquired in her blog.
Lavizzo-Mourey was not just anyone wondering what a good price would be for her medical procedure. She is chief executive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which bills itself as the nation’s greatest philanthropy dedicated solely to health — and transparency in medical pricing.
Lavizzo-Mourey’s frustration is shared by millions of clients who are trying to shop for lower costs for medical tests, procedures, doctor visits, surgeries, and hospital services. But that is changing with the emergence of websites where clients can see a range of prices and contributors for medical procedures and tests.
Saveonmedical.com, an advertising-supported website and the only one presently operating in Massachusetts, provides limited comparison shopping for common procedures and tests because the only prices shown are from providers who bought ads on the site.
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