EP334: Do Consumers Ditch High-Cost Providers After Shopping With Price Transparency Tools? With Sunita Desai, PhD

In Episode 334, Stacey Richter talks with Sunita Desai, PhD, health economist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, about whether price transparency tools actually drive consumers to lower-cost providers — and the barriers standing between price transparency and the consumerism it's supposed to enable.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

✅ The seven-step chain that has to hold for price transparency to actually improve quality and lower costs

✅ Why most people don't use shopping tools even when they're available — and what changes that

✅ Why people who do use price information often still don't switch to lower-cost providers

✅ Why bypassing the physician at the point of care limits the use of price transparency tools

✅ Why there isn't a strong correlation between provider prices and quality

WHY THIS MATTERS

Price transparency isn't an end in itself — it's supposed to enable shopping, which is supposed to reward higher-quality, lower-priced providers and punish the rest. But the research shows most people don't use shopping tools, and even those who do often don't act on the information. Understanding those barriers, rather than getting defensive about them, is the only way to actually make consumerism work in healthcare.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

EP284 with Carm Huntress: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

EP308 with Mark Fendrick, MD: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Other Apps

=== LINKS ===

🔗 Show Notes with all mentioned links: Episode Page

🔗 Healthcare Industry Acronyms and Terms

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00:00 Introduction.

06:23 Why is everyone so interested in price transparency right now?

07:30 How does price transparency enable consumerism?

08:05 What are the two aspects to consumerism in order to enable it in health care?

11:01 Does access to price transparency tools lower costs and spending?

15:19 Why is there such low utilization of price transparency tools?

16:13 What's the first barrier to using price transparency tools?

17:10 Why bypassing the physician at the point of care limits the use of price transparency tools.

17:53 EP284 with Carm Huntress.

23:20 EP308 with Mark Fendrick, MD.

23:31 How does reducing spending with high-deductible health plans negatively affect high-value health care?

25:23 "There is not a strong correlation between prices of providers and quality."

28:48 How does a reduction in physician choices undermine price transparency?

29:30 "We owe that information to patients … it's useful for patients to know what out-of-pocket costs they should expect."