Americans cannot control the economy, but they can do a much better job of educating themselves about what they should pay for health care services. Healthcarebluebook is a national website that provides free pricing data to consumers. The purpose of healthcarebluebook is to give consumers the information they need to pay fair prices for health care services.
Price variations for health care services, even within the same market and provider network, may be thousands of dollars. So knowing what the fair price is can help consumers better manage the cost of their health care.
Healthcarebluebook.com is easy to use. Type in the kind of healthcare service needed plus a zip code and the Healthcare Blue Book pulls up the fair price based on fees paid by Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO) to doctors for services in that market. Consumers can then use the suggested Healthcare Blue Book price to discuss prices for services and treatments with their doctors and other health care providers.
Health care costs are expected to continue climbing throughout 2009. The National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans conducted by Mercer, reported that in 2008, PPO deductibles doubled at many companies from $500 to $1,000.
Americans do price/value comparisons for their homes, cars, vacations and the majority of goods and services they buy. “Why not health care?” asks Dr. Jeff Rice, Healthcarebluebook.com founder. The former CEO of CareSteps, Rice has a long history in the health care industry of developing innovative products for consumers.
“Patients should not assume that a high price means good quality,” says Rice. “It is up to patients to ask about the cost of services and to learn about the quality of their providers. Doctors and hospitals that charge a fair price, often provide the best value. Healthcarebluebook.com can help consumers figure out what they should pay.”
Consumers need better education about the health care services they purchase and 2009 is a good year for them to start. Using www.Healthcarebluebook.com can help people learn how to obtain fair prices for their health care.
For additional information, contact Dr. Jeff Rice, jrice@healthcarebluebook.com
