True across platforms and regions
Austin Frakt 16, Austin Frakt is a health economist with several governmental and academic affiliations. He blogs at The Incidental Economist, and you can follow him on Twitter at @afrakt. , 12-19-2016, "Price Transparency Is Nice. Just Don’t Expect It to Cut Health Costs.," New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/19/upshot/price-transparency-is-nice-just-dont-expect-it-to-cut-health-costs.html?mcubz=1&_r=0
Despite its features, the cost calculator wasn’t popular. Though 60 percent of employees with access to it faced a deductible over $500, only 10 percent used it in the first year of availability and 20 percent after two years. The study found that price transparency did not reduce outpatient spending, even among patients with higher deductibles or who faced higher health care costs because of illness. Study after study has showed the same thing. Health plans report that use of their price transparency tools is limited, with many enrollees unaware they exist. The vast majority of plans now provide pricing information to enrollees, but only 2 percent of them look at it. Aetna offers a price transparency tool to 94 percent of its commercial market enrollees, but only 3.5 percent use it. One study found that only 1 percent of residents of New Hampshire used the state’s health care price comparison website over a three-year period. Another study found that use of the price transparency platform Castlight Health was associated with lower payments for lab tests, advanced imaging and office visits. However, the study did not examine outpatient spending over all.