Making medical and health care prices more transparent

Guests: Betty Long and Jeanne Pinder

Your back hurts, your health care provider says you need an MRI, and you schedule an appointment without any thought to what the test might cost. But with an increase in high-deductible and/or high co-pay health insurance plans, the price of medical procedures does matter to your pocketbook. You may even find it makes sense to shop around for quality care at the lowest dollar amount. The problem is, few hospitals and providers make public what they charge for a procedure or diagnostic test. There is a growing movement around the country for all that to change. This morning on Radio Times, we’ll talk about a new WHYY project, in collaboration with clearhealthcosts.com, aimed at making medical prices in our region more transparent. Joining us to talk about it is JEANNE PINDER, founder and CEO of clearhealthcosts.com. We’ll also be joined by BETTY LONG, president and founder of Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates. She’ll help us understand why hospital bills are so complicated, how prices are determined and why it’s so important to be a savvy health consumer.

(AP Photo/Michael Probst)