Newly available data from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) details consumer medical care prices and how they vary for elective procedures like an MRI or cataracts procedure. The data demonstrates the potential cost benefit to consumer co-pays with the implementation of shopping around for care. The HCCI analysis reveals that costs of common procedures, specifically out-of-pocket spending, can vary as much as from $10 to nearly $1,000, procedure dependent.

Americans spent an average of $7,960 per person on health care in 2009, that number rising to $8,745 per person for healthcare in 2014. The average advanced country spends roughly half that on healthcare, but the outcome of medical treatments does not vary significantly from one developed country to the next. Soaring costs of medical and health care have Americans wondering why the cost of an MRI can range anywhere from $400 to $2,183 within a defined region, depending on the city or state of the chosen doctors office.

HCCI Executive Director David Newman says, “Today, consumers are flying blind when it comes to health care prices,” not knowing what they are buying or even how much it will cost. The report is aimed at attempting to promote transparency in healthcare costs by showcasing the trends in pricing of various procedures in different states. Out-of-pocket costs are rising, the degree to which varies from state to state, but Director Newman points out that shopping for health care can be a benefit to consumers. He emphasizes that to shop in an informed way, shoppers need to have access to price and quality information.

The HCCI is developing an online tool to provide consumers comprehensive, up-to-date information on quality and price of various healthcare services. This tool is being developed with Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealthcare, three of the nation’s largest health insurance companies, plus additional carriers and is projected to be available in early 2015 with free access. The search engine will provide users with company-specific data that cannot be compared across plans. It will allow the viewing of services within and across specific geographic regions. The goal is to give consumers the power to make informed and cost-effective decisions and choices for themselves in an effort to quell the overall rising cost of health care to Americans.

With health care costs increasing, the national average on wages struggles to keep up, being raised three times slower.  The HCCI estimates that U.S. spending on health will hit $4.7 trillion by the end of 2020 with an increase in consumer costs across the board. This is an 80 percent increase from the 2010 expenditure of $2.6 trillion. National out-of-pocket adults medical expenses under job-based insurance rose 6.9 percent, from $662 per person in 2012 to $707 in 2013. None of these statistics include the use of an online tool by consumers to locate and utilize more affordable care.