An article in the Los Angeles Times looks at the information gap that prevents patients from effective comparison shopping when making their healthcare choices. The most onerous catch-22 of the consumer-driven healthcare plan movement is well known by those who follow the industry: In order to make more informed decisions, customers need better access to information. For the most part, that information just isn't there. That has led to a number of well-publicized efforts to increase transparency, such as California's chargemaster law and current proposals that would require hospitals and physicians to publish detailed accountings of their costs. Insurer-run Web sites like recent efforts by Aetna and PacifiCare attempt to shore up the breach by publishing detailed information. However, not everybody is sold on them.
- see this article from the Los Angeles Times