Findings from Price Transparency Study Featured in National Center for Policy Analysis Blog

In a blog post [1] on price transparency tools, Devon Herrick of the National Center for Policy Analysis discusses findings from a recent RWJF-funded study [2] from Jon Gabel, M.A., and colleagues at NORC, that found [3] the use of price transparency tools was “spotty.” Specifically, 75% of households either did not log into the transparency tool or did so only one time in the 18-month study period; 15 percent logged in twice; and only one percent logged in 6 times or more. The authors conclude that we could be asking too much of a single tool, as consumers receive information for goods and services not solely through a digital tool but also through advertising and other kinds of promotion, such as social media communication channels. Herrick notes that encouraging consumers to comparison shop requires creating the appropriate incentives. He adds, however, that many consumers are not regular consumers of health care, and it might make sense to focus our efforts on the 20 percent of patients that consume 80 percent of all health care dollars. Findings from the study were also featured in The Health Care Blog [4].