Pricing

Aug 27, 2009

Looking under the rug – what insurers pay providers now public in Minnesota

For the first time in the U.S., a web site will show consumers what insurance companies pay on average for common medical procedures. That, according to an article in this morning’s Star Tribune, titled “Medical price shopping hits Web.” (Bad headline aside – medical price shopping has been around on the web for a couple of years – this is different). Continue reading…

Jul 10, 2009

Price shopping from Pittsburgh to Portland

In the weekly healthcare marketing Twitter chats we attend, whenever the issue of pricing comes up, the gloves come off. It’s fascinating to see the wide range of opinions on whether price shopping is, or should be, impacting consumer behavior in healthcare (let alone what healthcare marketers should do about it). For some, it’s an obvious yes, with the caveat that the impact of price shopping is still minimal relative to the overall healthcare choice dynamic. For others, it’s “no way, no how” – price shopping is absolutely not driving consumer decisions in their market. (For a sampling of the differing views, check out the great comments below this post.) Continue reading…

Jun 25, 2009

Price positioning possibilities

Last week we profiled a new healthcare pricing web site, the Healthcare Blue Book. This week I had a great conversation with the company’s CEO, Dr. Jeffrey Rice. Continue reading…

Jun 12, 2009

Healthcare pricing: taking a new tool for a test drive

Will we ever have healthcare prices that are easy to understand and compare for consumers? We gnawed on that question in our latest podcast, as the answer could have a significant impact on how hospitals and health systems position and market themselves in the future. The reasons why we don’t have clear pricing now are many, and we won’t go into them here. But our podcast conversation led to some frustration as we wondered if pricing – the cornerstone of the promise of consumer-driven health plans – would ever really arrive in a market-moving way.

Then I saw a tweet from Gregg Masters, Continue reading…

Apr 15, 2009

More examples of how pricing is creeping into hc encounters

Yesterday, I had two experiences related to pricing in healthcare I’d never encountered before. First, I met with a nurse practitioner as part of my regular Type II diabetes follow-up. Things are progressing to the point where I might need to consider Insulin, and so she was outlining the different types of Insulin available and how they are used. In each case, she started with giving a general price point. For example, “Now this version, which is also fairly expensive, is used in these circumstances.” After three or four of these descriptions, I was intrigued enough to stop and ask: Continue reading…

Apr 3, 2009

Step right up to get your free colonoscopy…

Across the U.S., companies are finding ways to try to help customers purchase products and services in these tough economic times. Much has been made of some of the offers by car companies, started by Hyundai’s Assurance plan: anyone who buys or leases a vehicle in 2009 can return their car to the dealer and stop making monthly payments without affecting their credit score. According to Consumer Reports, the program isn’t just for consumers who’ve lost their jobs in tough times; it also extends to those who become physically disabled, lose their driver’s license due to medical impairment, are self employed and file for bankruptcy, or get a job transfer overseas. At Interval, we’ve even introduced a new offering to help our clients – hospital and health system marketers – who are having budgets and staffs slashed as the healthcare industry struggles.

This week, Walgreen announced Continue reading…

Mar 16, 2009

The economic crisis: Tipping point for healthcare consumer behavior?

With their own money on the line, consumers are beginning to use the same value criteria for healthcare decisions – service, price, experience, brand equity and more – as they do with other purchasing decisions. To date, however, the new healthcare “consumerism” has not led to a widespread change in consumer behavior. But this nation’s current economic crisis may well be the tipping point; the driver of fundamental change in how and when consumers engage hospitals and health systems. Continue reading…

Feb 2, 2009

Elasticity in healthcare demand, fo sho

The Star Tribune continues to do a great job of covering the changing dynamics of the healthcare industry. The lead story on the front page of Sunday’s issue, “Minnesota health care: Condition Critical,” is a terrific primer on the various reasons for, and the impact of, the financial struggles of local hospitals and health systems. The quote that may capture the most important change comes from David Wessner, CEO of Park Nicollet Health Services:

“We’re seeing that demand is far more elastic than it was in other years.”
Continue reading…