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Unlike most markets for consumer services in the United States, the health care market generally lacks transparent market-based pricing. Patients are typically not able to comparison shop for medical services based on price, as medical service providers do not typically disclose prices prior to service.〔〔〔(The perils of transparent pricing: the time for speculation is over: transparent pricing is becoming a reality for hospitals. | Health Care > Health Care Professionals from AllBusiness.com )〕 Government mandated critical care and government insurance programs like Medicare also impact market pricing of US health care. According to the New York Times, "the United States is far and away the world leader in medical spending, even though numerous studies have concluded that Americans do not get better care."〔 == Price transparency issues == In a market with transparent pricing, the price of a particular service is openly advertised.〔〔(Price transparency: Definition and Much More from Answers.com )〕 For example, companies that provide automotive oil changes often advertise their prices, and consumers have access to these prices when choosing a service provider. In contrast, in the US medical industry, patients generally do not have access to pricing information until after medical services have been rendered. A study conducted by the California Healthcare Foundation〔http://www.chcf.org California Healthcare Foundation〕 found that only 25% of visitors asking for pricing information were able to obtain it in a single visit to a hospital.〔(Price Check: The Mystery of Hospital Pricing - CHCF.org )〕 Since the majority (85%) of Americans have health insurance, they do not directly pay for medical services.〔(US Census Press Releases )〕 Insurance companies, as payors, negotiate health care pricing with providers on behalf of the insured. Hospitals, doctors, and other medical providers have traditionally disclosed their fee schedules only to insurance companies and other institutional payors, and not to individual patients. Uninsured individuals are expected to pay directly for services, but since they lack access to pricing information, price-based competition may be reduced. The introduction of high-deductible insurance has increased demand for pricing information among consumers. Organizations such as the American Medical Association (AMA) and AARP support a "fair and accurate valuation for all physician services".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=RBRVS: Resource-Based Relative Value Scale )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=AARP: Creating a New Health Care Paradigm )〕 The AMA sponsors the Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee, a private group of physicians which largely determine how to value physician labor in Medicare prices. Among politicians, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has called for transparency in the prices of medical devices, noting it is one of the few aspects or U.S. health care where consumers and federal health officials are "barred from comparing the quality, medical outcomes or price". Recently, some insurance companies have announced their intention to begin disclosing provider pricing as a way to encourage cost reduction.〔 Other services exist to assist physicians and their patients, such as Healthcare Out Of Pocket,〔(Compare Provider Chargers )〕 Accuro Healthcare Solutions, with its CarePricer software.〔(Patient Estimates - Accuro Healthcare Solutions )〕 Similarly, medical tourists take advantage of price transparency on websites such as MEDIGO and (Purchasing Health )]], which offer hospital price comparison and appointment booking services.〔(Patient Estimates - MEDIGO )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Health care prices」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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