Dive Brief:
- While consumer-directed healthcare continues to play a major role in employer-paid healthcare benefits programs today, a recent survey reports that 70% percent of employees still don't compare prices before shopping for medical services or pharmaceutical drugs, according to PlanSponsor.
- There may be a good reason for that, as the HealthMine survey of 750 consumers enrolled in wellness programs found that, despite growing industry and consumer awareness that medical procedure costs vary widely by location and provider, only 29% of health benefit plan sponsors offer a price comparison tool.
- According to the survey, participants did show interest in having a price comparison tool to help manage health care costs, with 42% of respondents saying that a price comparison tool in their wellness program is “very important,” and 48% saying it would be “nice to have."
Dive Insight
When asked for the reasons why they don’t compare costs before scheduling services, 41% reported that the “cost is covered by my health plan, so it doesn’t matter,” and 34% said they do not select medical services based on price. Another 10% said it is too difficult or takes too much time to price shop.
Among those respondents who do compare prices for health care, 45% call doctors within their health plan network, 35% use a tool provided by their plan sponsor, 4% use an online tool and 8% ask family and friends.
The survey only covers 750 consumers, but it may make HR pros stop and consider their wellness plan offerings. Bryce Williams, CEO and president of HealthMine, a healthcare technology provider, told PlanSponsor that American workers can't become better healthcare consumers unless plan sponsors help facilitate better transparency by providing access to cost comparison tools.
But notably, some say even with consumer-like tools at their fingertips, that strategy may not pay off for employers in terms of lower costs.