A study conducted by YouGov, on behalf of healthcare artificial intelligence company Akasa, released July 21 found that 60 percent of Americans who have researched prices for healthcare services get pricing information from their insurance companies, as opposed to providers.
YouGov, a global market research and data analytics company, surveyed over 2,000 Americans and found that thirty-six percent of respondents have researched prices for healthcare services. Forty-four percent of respondents said their insurance companies did not provide pricing information for local providers.
Thirty-four percent of respondents said they didn't know whether pricing information was available.
"As the data indicates, patients are most often either turning to their insurance company or to their care provider through a variety of platforms to understand their price of care," Ben Beadle-Ryby, co-founder of Akasa, said in a July 21 press release. "Clearly, both providers and payers have a critical role to play, and the healthcare industry as a whole must work together to holistically improve price transparency, which is a key piece of the puzzle to improving the overall patient financial experience."
On July 1, CMS' ruling that requires insurance companies to make pricing information available and easy to access for the general public went into effect.