Why Healthcare Price Transparency Is So Murky

I’ve spent the better part of the last two years trying to improve price transparency in healthcare. When my startup, Medlio, began down this path, we had a very simple vision - that consumers should be able to use their smartphones to find, connect, and transact with their healthcare providers. By "transact," I mean schedule appointments, submit medical forms and insurance information, receive an upfront estimate of the cost of the visit, make payment, and receive their data afterwards.

Now, this is pretty standard fare in just about every other industry. And, to be perfectly honest, we’re not that far off even in healthcare. The b*!#@ of the bunch in that set of transactions, of course, is accurately estimating the cost of a visit before it happens, and accurately assigning responsibility based on a patient’s specific plan benefits and current accruals (as in, how much of their benefits have they used, and if they have a deductible, where are they in meeting it).

I cannot even begin to tell you how many people have told us that (1) it’s not possible, (2) patients don’t care, (3) as an estimate, it won’t be reliable or useful… and oh yes, (4) we’re stupid.  Yet, as worthless and stupid as the idea may seem, upfront cost estimates just recently became state law in Massachusetts, and if I thought it worthwhile and relevant, I would list off the other states who are either in process or developing similar legislation. I don’t, so I won’t waste our time...