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Patients shopping for health care more

Patient Access Weekly Advisor, Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 3, 2007

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Hospital patients are shopping for bargains and want more information than ever about prices for procedures, according to a report in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The report says patients want pricing transparency, leading many hospitals to drop prices to compete with others, add staff to answer pricing questions, and simplify the pricing process.

Doug Thorson, finance director at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, says in the Star-Tribune consumers are shopping for medical care because the "burden of health care" is more and more being put on consumers - through higher deductibles and co-insurance.

One health care provider, Park Nicollet Health Services in Minnesota, cut prices across the board by 10 to 15 percent in the past four years, Chief Financial Officer David Cooke says in the Star-Tribune.

However, for many patients, especially those about to undergo a major procedure, quality trumps price. They will shop for good doctors, not rates.

"You don't want to start (treatment) and say, 'Oops, we found something else, Mr. Jones. Would you like to shop around?'" Andy McCoy, vice president of revenue management at Fairview Hospital in Minnesota, tells the Star-Tribune. "It's not like the brakes on your car."

To read the full story in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, click here.

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