Make health care costs transparent

Most people never would consider making a major purchase without knowing how much it was going to cost them.

Perhaps especially when the cost is likely to be significant, we shop around to make sure we are getting the greatest value for our dollar.

Even in situations where exact figures can be hard to pin down - in home construction, for example, or car repair - we ask for estimates of how much those services are likely to cost. It just makes sense.

But when it comes to health care, consumers are expected to effectively write a blank check - to sign off on services without having any idea how much they will cost, or any ability to compare costs from different providers.

Trying to comparison shop in advance of health care procedures is all but impossible. Physicians frequently don't even know how much a procedure is likely to cost.

Transparent pricing would create a true competitive marketplace, helping control skyrocketing health care costs and allowing consumers to make more cost-efficient health care choices.

Knowing the cost of care would encourage consumers to participate more actively in their medical decisions and could motivate patients to take preventive steps to avoid more costly medical interventions.

The idea is gaining traction. Last year, congressional leaders tried to make health care pricing as pricing as clear and accessible as pricing in any other sector of our economy.

The Transparency in All Health Care Pricing Act, put forward by former Wisconsin congressman and medical clinic owner Dr. Steve Kagen, would have required all health-related service providers, including insurance companies, to disclose the sticker price of all products, services and procedures.

The bill also would have required them to list discounts, wholesale and other prices they'd accept as payment in full.

It would have given medical consumers the ability to comparison shop the way they are accustomed to doing when purchasing nearly any other kind of good or service.

The Transparency in All Health Care Pricing Act would have given consumers the tools they need to reign in medical costs. It was a great idea that withered on the vine.

Federal legislators should go back to the drawing board and give it another try.

We understand that medical care is complex - involving thousands of possible procedures, dozens of staff, various clinics, equipment, lab work and analysis. But transparent pricing is the norm in all kinds of complex sectors of our economy.

When it comes to health care, too, it shouldn't be so difficult for a consumer to find out just how much they'll be paying.

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