Published Fees on the WEb

[Guest guest]

Stumbled on this at the AAFP as a link while looking for something else.

I never have figured out how this all works.

Gas stations can publish their prices on their signs.

Sears can show me the money on the web.

But docs are supposed to be much more secretive so we don't collude.

Anyway, this is apparently a group that is publishing their most common

sites.

http://www.healthcarepartners.com/brochures/BasicFees_Web.pdf

http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20070700/news.html

Medical group goes public with its fees

HealthCare Partners, a large, private medical group in California, recently

took a bold step by publicly posting its fees for 58 common services, from a

flu vaccine ($15) to a well baby exam ($65-$80) to a colonoscopy ($424). The

fee schedule is viewable online at

http://www.healthcarepartners.com/brochures/BasicFees_Web.pdf.

The group says it is simply responding to market demands for price

transparency, which aids consumers who participate in high-deductible health

plans or have health savings accounts and need to better manage their health

care dollars.

" Health care delivery is becoming more consumer-oriented, and posting our

prices is a next logical step in its evolution, " said the group's CEO,

J. Margolis, MD. " People have told us they want to know how much they

are paying for the health care services they need, so that they can plan and

make the most informed decisions. These postings will prove extraordinarily

helpful for patients who are budgeting with their annual insurance

deductibles or medical savings accounts in mind. "

Health insurers are also becoming increasingly interested in price

transparency. Earlier this year, Aetna expanded the number of regions in

which it gives members online access to participating physicians' negotiated

prices for common services. The affected regions are now Atlanta;

Connecticut; south Florida; Houston; southeast Indiana; Kansas City;

northern Kentucky; Las Vegas; Maine; land; parts of Ohio; Oklahoma City

and Tulsa, Okla.; Pittsburgh; Utah; northern Virginia; and Washington, D.C.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has also announced plans to

begin posting online the prices it pays for physicians' services.

Locke, MD