Health Insurance Daily

Majority Unaware Of Medical Costs

Americans often grossly misjudge the price of medical services due to a general lack of knowledge about health care and because of a lack of price transparency in the industry, a new survey from HealthMarkets shows. More than 70% of Americans know little or nothing about what their doctors charge for medical services compared to other doctors.

About 73% of adults assumed the highest price for a CT scan of the abdomen would be $2,000. In actuality, the cost for such a procedure ranged from $298 to $2,858. Meanwhile, 83% of adults thought the highest price for knee replacement was $66,000, when the actual price ranged from $22,000 to $77,239. Only 10% of adults correctly guessed the highest price for a tonsillectomy. Approximately 70% said it would be useful to have online data comparing health care providers. Estimates on new patient office visits ranged from $60 to $261.

“Most Americans have no idea how much health care costs or how much it varies from one provider to another,” says William Gedwed, president of HealthMarkets. “If consumers are going to effectively manage their health care dollars, they need to know how much things will cost them.”

HealthMarkets, which is based in North Richland Hills, Texas and provides health insurance services to small businesses, questioned 1,028 adults for the survey.

posted by Mike @ 9:40 AM