Aetna Rolls Out Program Disclosing Health Care Costs

August 18, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Aetna has announced a new program that lets consumers find out the price for health services before going for care.

The pioneer program provides online access to the actual discounted rates for up to 25 of the most common services provided by the consumer’s own primary care or specialist physician, according to  a company press release .   Initially, Aetna is piloting the program in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Springfield, Ohio and Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana.

“I applaud Aetna for taking a significant step toward transparency of health care pricing,” said Regina Herzlinger, the Nancy R. McPherson Professor of Business Administration for Harvard Business School, in the news release. “Consumers should know how much a service will cost them before they make the purchase, and health care should be no exception.”

To access the information, members log-on to  www.aetna.com , search for their physician using “DocFind,” and choose “View Rates for Aetna Members” on the “Provider Detail” screen. 

The company said it will roll out the program in other markets after soliciting additional feedback from physicians, customers and members.

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