August 22, 2005
HSA causing Health Care Companies to List Prices
I've always stated the Third Payer and Single-Payer Health Schemes are doomed to fail because they remove the consumer from the information loop.
I've also stated that HSAs solve that problem by reconnecting the consumer to the provider.
It's been a blast posting all the articles that prove me right. Here is another.
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Insurer to post medical prices
The growing effort to enlist consumers in reducing health-care costs has been stymied by the fact that most people just don't know what medical care costs.Private and government health coverage has helped shield them from bills. And even with newer consumer-driven plans that employ Health Savings Accounts, which give people more of a financial stake in the issue, pricing information can be hard to come by.
Now, a major national health insurer is making an effort to change that.
Starting today, Aetna Inc. plans to make available online the exact prices it has negotiated with Cincinnati-area doctors for hundreds of medical procedures and tests.
The initiative, which Aetna hopes to take eventually to other parts of the country, aims to give patients the tools to comparison shop and make savvier decisions with their health-care dollars.
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No, I'd rather have Rod Blagojevich & Ted Kennedy make my health care decisions...NOT!
Posted by Bruno Behrend at August 22, 2005 05:43 PM