Heath Care Pricing Transparency and Consumer Rights: Shoppable services

"Shoppable services" websites will show prices for several hundred common inpatient and outpatient services. These self-service, web-based tools allow customers to compare prices for health care services at facilities owned by hospital systems. See these examples of "Shoppable service" websites at MU Hospital & Clinics, BooneHealth, CoxHealth, North Kansas City Hospital, Mercy Hospital, etc. To find price estimator tools for additional hospital-based providers, simply Google the name of the hospital along with the phrase "price transparency."

• PROs:
  • Easy, fast answers to price questions
• CONs:
  • Doesn't show every service, test or procedure 
  • There may be multiple charges involved in a single health care visit.  A patient might not be able to anticipate all the lab work, diagnostic tests, imaging and procedures which may be involved.  However, the "Good Faith Estimate" does provide codes for every item, so if one requests the Good Faith Estimate first, it's easier to enter the codes at other providers' websites to compare prices.
  • The self-service tools may not accurately reflect a patient's actual out-of-pocket responsibility because it may change after being run through insurance.   There is also a possibility that the patient would qualify for charity care.  Further detail may be obtained by contacting the provider's billing office in advance of scheduling the procedure.