Medical Cost Transparency

Perhaps our insulation from health care expenses is contributing to the runaway medical costs we read about every day. If consumers aren't searching for the best deals, why should anyone offer them? (Actually, the government does put pricing pressure on the medical system, setting specific levels at which it will reimburse care. And huge insurance companies also negotiate better deals for their members.)

New Plans

This situation is changing, though. In one effort to gain control over health care costs, many companies and individuals are turning to "consumer-driven health care plans." These plans are similar to Health Savings Accounts, but consumers get to keep, and grow, the money they set aside for health care expenses, even if it is not spent during the plan year.

Suddenly, there's great incentive for consumers to shop around for the best prices.

Again, that's where a service like HealthGrades comes in. It offers a suite of tools, for various prices (and some are free!), that can help employers and employees spend their health care dollars more wisely, from physician ratings -- including summaries of their education and training and reports of any disciplinary actions they may have faced -- to reviews of nursing homes.

HealthGrades reports also list the dollar amounts that Medicare pays to reimburse both hospitals and doctors for different procedures (and those reimbursements are typically substantially less than even the negotiated amounts paid by private insurers).