The American Public on Health Care-The Missing Perspective - (Page 36)

The Power of Information Americans need better resources for information on procedures and treatments covered by insurance plans and on the cost of care. One physician in San Francisco is concerned. “How does a consumer know and make rational choices about the provider or the hospital in which you get care?” A woman from Detroit says that getting information isn’t as simple as it may sound. Gaining access to care is easier in the U.S. 11 than in many other countries. However, Americans need better resources for information on procedures and treatments covered by insurance plans and on the cost of care. One group found that only 12-16% of people had received any information from doctors or hospitals about the cost of their treatment.12 A dean of a nursing school in Miami points out, “Consumers do not really have access to good quality information on hospitals, doctors, or plans.” Some of the information Americans want is currently available. For example, America outshines the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, and New Zealand in providing wellness information. “Health care is the only thing that you buy and you have no idea how much it costs. You walk into a hospital and no one gives you a menu of prices… we should know that an appendectomy costs X, not $1000 here, $2000 there, $3000 there. I think it should be transparent.” Accessing information about cost is complicated by the fact that, according to one survey, two-thirds of physicians indicated they do not want information on cost of services or quality of care to be made available to the public.13 In addition, information regarding coverage—that is, which health insurance plans cover what procedures by which physicians—can be hard to uncover. The health insurance companies stand by with phone help lines to assist members. However, there are no comprehensive national services to compare coverage across plans. 11 Accenture Institute for Public Service Value, “Study of Consumer Health Care Information: An International Comparison,” pp. 22, 24, September 2008, 12 Accenture, p. 23, 13 Audet et al., “Measure, Learn, And Improve: Physicians’ Involvement In Quality Improvement,” Health Affairs, 24, no. 3 (2005): 843-853 Accessed at: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/24/3/843 36 http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/24/3/843

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