Study Finds Dramatic Differences In Prices For Health Care Services
The differentials extend across the country and within metropolitan areas, researchers reported.
Kaiser Health News:
Buyer Beware: A Mammogram’s Price Can Vary By Nearly $1,000, Study Finds
Thinking about getting a mammogram in the Dallas-Fort Worth area? You might check carefully because the cost can vary from $50 to as much as $1,045. How about an initial routine gynecological exam? Around Phoenix, those prices can range from $72 to $388. According to an analysis released Wednesday, it can pay to shop around for women’s health care, with mammograms and other routine services often costing far more in one office than in another. Researchers at Castlight Health, a company that helps businesses analyze health care prices, looked at 179 metropolitan areas and found that mammogram prices varied four-fold or more in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia and Seattle, among others. (Rau, 10/7)
The Charlotte Observer:
Charlotte Area Among Highest For Some Medical Costs, Survey Shows
Charlotte ranks in the top four of 30 U.S. cities for the price consumers pay for four common medical procedures, according to the 2015 Castlight Health Costliest Cities Index. For the second year, Castlight, a health care management organization based in San Francisco, produced the index based on private insurance claims and public data showing what employers and consumers actually pay for common procedures in 30 U.S. cities, including Charlotte and Raleigh. (Garloch, 10/5)
The San Francisco Chronicle:
Painful Bay Area Medical Prices Among Highest In Nation
When it comes to the price of housing, food and other necessities, the Bay Area typically tops out as one of the priciest regions in the U.S. So maybe it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the cost of going to the doctor or your cholesterol checked would also be among the highest in the country. (Colliver, 10/7)