DOC$ has blogged for months about bringing consumers a platform for comparing prices on key medical procedures (a common MRI, CT-Scan, Ortho procedure, ENT treatment, and on and on). We have established this web tool for just that purpose. We research to find the best values. We also offer a "Build-A-Report" screen so YOU can tell us your own healthcare cost experience—good or bad—by reporting the provider, the procedure, and the price you were billed. You will be able to report BOTH gross billed amount, as well as the amount after whatever insurance or Medicare/Medicaid discount.

On the grid to the right, you can see valuable information on comparative rates for a common MRI procedure in the Houston, TX metro area. We have made a habit lately to report on MRI prices—these are mainly our earliest efforts to show useful comparisons within a localized region—a metro area—where someone might look to find those values.

Why MRI prices? The main reason is that medical imaging is one of the procedures most likely to be 1) considered to be an insurance-covered item, 2) fall subject to the typical insurance plan's annual deductible, and 3) have some level of price-transparency across competing providers.

At a glance, you might be shocked at the price listed for one hospital—HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center. They disclaim on their CMS-required price list that the "undiscounted" price does not contain any adjustments for copayment, deductible, or coinsurance, nor does it reflect any adjustments for financial assistance or other discounts "that may be available for qualifying patients." The price shown is simply their published rate, alongside the published rates of nearby competitive imaging clinics.

We hope everyone who sees this—or shares it—or receives it from someone else who shares it—can clearly see that there is a GREAT need and an even GREATER benefit to sharing price information on Healthcare purchases. The government can mandate transparency all they want. But it is ultimately ALL OF US who are going to make Medical Price Transparency a reality from which we can all benefit.

We need all possible input on the main types of Healthcare purchases that most affect family budgets. They include:

• MRI

• CT-Scan

• Ortho Procedures

• Physical Therapy (Eval. and other items)

• E.N.T. Procedures

• Minor surgeries

• Cardiac intervention treatments

• Other diagnostic testing/procedures

After you create an account (with an anonymous userName) you can click "Add A Record" under your logon name. The page will walk you through the process. Consider this similar to getting your vaccine:  all of us working together to stamp out a scourge. In this case, the "scourge" of runaway medical costs, all perpetrated in the shadows of 1/6 of the entire U.S. economy, absent advance information on the monetary exposure we all face.

Know the Cost of Healthcare BEFORE You Go In!