How Much Will It Cost? How Americans Use Prices in Health Care

Finding 1: The majority of Americans have tried to find information about health care prices before getting care.

• 56 percent of Americans say they have tried to find out how much they would have to pay out of pocket, not including a copay, or how much their insurer would have to pay a doctor or hospital, before getting care.
• People with higher deductibles are more likely to have sought price information: 67 percent of those with deductibles of $500 to $3,000 and 74 percent of those with deductibles higher than $3,000 have tried to find price information before getting care.
• People with college degrees and women are more likely to have sought price information than those without degrees and men, 62 percent of those with college degrees and 59 percent of women report having done so. Only 40 percent of retired Americans report having done so.
• There are no significant differences by income, age or race/ethnicity in whether or not people have sought price information when taking into consideration other relevant variables.

Finding 2: Most Americans seem open to looking for better-value care.

• 71 percent of Americans say higher prices are not typically a sign of better-quality medical care.
• 69 percent of Americans say insurance companies should be required to make public how much they pay doctors for medical services.
• Even among those who have not ever tried to find out a price before getting care, 57 percent say they would like to know the prices of medical services in advance, and 43 percent would choose less expensive doctors if they knew the prices in advance.

Finding 3: Looking for price information does not necessarily mean comparing prices.

• About one in five Americans, 21 percent, say that when trying to find price information before getting care, they have compared prices across multiple providers.
• 33 percent say that when trying to find price information before getting care, they have checked prices from just one provider.
• People who have compared prices across multiple providers are more likely to make health care decisions for adult family members: 53 percent of those who have compared prices across providers make such decisions, compared with only 34 percent of those who have checked prices from just one provider.
• People who have compared prices across multiple providers are more likely to receive regular medical treatment: 42 percent of people who have compared prices before getting care receive regular medical treatment, compared with 33 percent of those who have not ever sought price information before getting care.
• Hispanics, African-Americans and younger people are more likely than other groups to have compared prices across multiple providers. Those with incomes over $100,000 are less likely than those with lower incomes to have compared prices.

Finding 4: Comparing prices, many Americans say, has saved them money.

• Among Americans who have compared prices across multiple providers, 62 percent believe that they have saved money.
• 82 percent of those who have compared prices across multiple providers say they will do so again in the future.

Finding 5: Some obstacles stand in the way of increasing the number of Americans who compare prices before getting care.

• 57 percent of insured Americans do not think some doctors covered under their insurance plans charge more than others for the same services.
• 43 percent of Americans say it is not reasonable to expect people to compare prices before getting care.
• 50 percent of those who have never checked a price are unsure how to find price information.

Finding 6: Insurers, providers and office staff can play key roles in helping Americans manage their health care spending.

• 69 percent of Americans say a website showing how much different doctors charge would help them with their health care spending.
• 64 percent of Americans say that after a doctor’s appointment, they would find it helpful to get an estimate from the receptionist of how much their bill will be.