Healthcare DIVE September 18, 2023
The study raises new questions about the dependability of hospital pricing, and builds on a mountain of past research finding wide varieties in facility costs.
Dive Brief:
- Hospitals have been required to post their prices for shoppable services online since 2021, but costs shared online rarely correlate to prices hospitals share with consumers on the phone, according to a new secret shopper survey.
- The study found wide variations when comparing hospitals’ online cash prices for childbirth and brain imaging with prices told to consumers who inquire over the phone.
- For example, researchers found five hospitals with online prices greater than $20,000 for a vaginal childbirth, but telephone prices of less than $10,000. For a brain magnetic resonance imaging scan,...
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