The Impact of Price Transparency on Surgical Episode Cost
Understanding the Impact of Consumer Choice on Health Care Costs
In recent years, transparency in health care pricing has taken center stage, thanks to tools like CIVHC’s Shop for Care and thanks to new federal and state hospital price transparency laws. These initiatives are designed to equip patients with clearer information about the costs of care. However, there is still a need to better understand how these tools impact the total cost of complex procedures, like surgeries. Brandeis University is diving into this issue with a project powered by the Colorado All Payer Claims Database (CO APCD). Their goal is to explore whether consumer decisions about where to get care in the early stages of the full episode, before having a surgery, impacts the total cost of care for that procedure.
The Big Picture
For complex procedures like surgeries, costs go far beyond the operating room. An episode of care includes everything from pre-operative diagnostic tests to the surgery itself and post-operative recovery services. Brandeis University researchers, using a comprehensive data set from the CO APCD, are investigating whether consumer choices for early-stage services, when guided by price transparency, influence the total cost of these episodes. Does knowing the price upfront lead to decisions that ultimately reduce the overall expense of the procedure? That’s the key question driving this innovative study.
Key Research Questions
- What services make up a full surgical episode, and how much do they cost?
- Do patients choose lower-cost options for early services when prices are transparent?
- Does selecting lower-priced services predict lower total episode costs?
- How do these patterns vary across Colorado’s diverse regions and populations?
- Do patients with commercial insurance behave differently than those with public coverage like Medicaid or Medicare?
Shaping the Future of Care
By analyzing early-stage decisions alongside total episode costs, researchers hope to uncover whether penny-wise choices lead to dollar-smart outcomes—or if focusing only on upfront prices misses the bigger picture. Insights from this research could inform policies encouraging bundled pricing and holistic care models, helping consumers navigate the system with greater ease.
Brandeis University’s work exemplifies how CO APCD data can spark meaningful change. By examining the ripple effects of price transparency, this project holds the potential to empower patients, guide policymakers, and reshape how we think about value in health care—one decision at a time.
Did you Know?
CIVHC recently made enhancements to its Shop for Care tool. Offering a one-stop shop for comparing quality and prices across various types of facilities that is designed to equip Coloradans with transparent information. Be sure to check out this innovative resource that can help make
cost-effective decisions about your health care!