Latest News On Cost Transparency

Latest California Healthline Stories

The $109K Heart Attack Bill Is Down To $332. What About Other Surprise Bills?

“I don’t feel any consumer should have to go through this,” says Drew Calver, who faced a life-changing surprise bill from an Austin hospital after a heart attack last year. After attention as a “Bill of the Month” patient, he paid the hospital $332. But he worries about other patients with surprise bills.

Reporter’s Notebook: In Health Care, A Good Price (Or Any Price) Is Hard To Find

Not only are health prices hidden, industry players are contractually obligated to keep them secret. That’s why answering a simple question — how much does it cost to have a baby in Mountain View, Calif.? — became a journalistic quest.

Too Few Patients Follow The Adage: You Better Shop Around

Three-quarters of participants in a newly released study said they did not know of resources for comparing health care costs, while half said that if a website were available to provide such information, they would use it.