Pediatric Price Transparency: Still Opaque With Opportunities for Improvement
Laura J Faherty1,2, Charlene A Wong3,4, Jordyn Feingold5
1Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program.
Insights
Online pediatric price transparency is limited, but phone or online estimate tools can help families understand out-of-pocket costs. Improving access to healthcare pricing information is crucial for informed decision-making.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Health Economics
- Consumer Health Informatics
Background:
- Rising healthcare costs place a greater financial burden on families.
- Price transparency in healthcare is increasingly important for consumers.
- Pediatric care pricing information is often difficult for families to access.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the availability of online price transparency data for pediatric care.
- To evaluate the consumer experience of obtaining out-of-pocket cost estimates from children's hospitals.
- To identify effective strategies for providing pediatric healthcare price information.
Main Methods:
- Audit of 45 children's hospital websites and 38 state-based price transparency websites (2015-2016).
- Analysis of price availability and characteristics of cost estimate tools.
- Secret shopper methodology to request out-of-pocket estimates for tonsillectomy-adenoidectomy.
Main Results:
- Only 18% of children's hospital websites listed prices; 27% offered estimate tools (phone or online).
- Hospitals with phone estimate lines provided liability information (mean $6008).
- 39% of state websites distinguished pediatric from adult care prices; only one had an estimate tool.
Conclusions:
- Meaningful online price transparency for pediatric care is not widely available.
- Phone lines and online forms are effective for providing out-of-pocket price information.
- Significant opportunities exist to enhance pediatric price transparency.
Objectives:
Price transparency is gaining importance as families' portion of health care costs rise. We describe (1) online price transparency data for pediatric care on children's hospital Web sites and state-based price transparency Web sites, and (2) the consumer experience of obtaining an out-of-pocket estimate from children's hospitals for a common procedure.
Methods:
From 2015 to 2016, we audited 45 children's hospital Web sites and 38 state-based price transparency Web sites, describing availability and characteristics of health care prices and personalized cost estimate tools. Using secret shopper methodology, we called children's hospitals and submitted online estimate requests posing as a self-paying family requesting an out-of-pocket estimate for a tonsillectomy-adenoidectomy.
Results:
Eight children's hospital Web sites (18%) listed prices. Twelve (27%) provided personalized cost estimate tool (online form n = 5 and/or phone number n = 9). All 9 hospitals with a phone number for estimates provided the estimated patient liability for a tonsillectomy-adenoidectomy (mean $6008, range $2622-$9840). Of the remaining 36 hospitals without a dedicated price estimate phone number, 21 (58%) provided estimates (mean $7144, range $1200-$15 360). Two of 4 hospitals with online forms provided estimates. Fifteen (39%) state-based Web sites distinguished between prices for pediatric and adult care. One had a personalized cost estimate tool.
Conclusions:
Meaningful prices for pediatric care were not widely available online through children's hospital or state-based price transparency Web sites. A phone line or online form for price estimates were effective strategies for hospitals to provide out-of-pocket price information. Opportunities exist to improve pediatric price transparency.
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