Community Corner
What's the Cost of Health Screenings?
The cost of colonoscopies, CT scans, mammograms, and MRIs can shift a lot from place to place.
Health care costs for many medical tests in Norfolk County are much less than the Massachusetts state average.
In fact, the cost of a colonoscopy in Norfolk County is $630 lower than the state average, a CT scan is $730 less, a mammogram is $60 less, and an MRI is $500 less. That's according to data from New Choice Health, a private company that encourages people to become smarter health care consumers.
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In addition, Norfolk County's costs are significantly lower than those in Suffolk County. A colonoscopy in Norfolk County is $1,430 less than one in Suffolk County, a CT scan is $1,140 less, a mammogram is $70 less, and an MRI is $800 less.
These big regional differences have been in the news lately: As the Washington Post wrote on Wednesday, "One hospital charges $8,000 - another $38,000." Using the same data as the Post, The New York Times listed out the prices of a series of procedures in hospitals across the country.
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The Times and the Post used data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Patch worked with New Choice Health to examine the cost of four well-known procedures in Patch communities all across the country and found wide disparities – CT scans, colonoscopies, MRIs and mammograms. The examination revealed the costs can vary by thousands of dollars even within the same community.
Take Orange County, California. A CT scan in the sprawling suburban area can go for as little as $1,790 or for as much as $6,130 – a difference of more than $4,000. The cost of a colonoscopy in neighboring Suffolk County can be as little as $2,570 or as much as $6,000.
The prices from the New Choice Health marketplace reflect the “list price” for these procedures, kind of like the sticker price on a car. Health insurance companies often end up getting different discounts and reimbursements depending on the arrangements they have worked out with providers. But the point, says New Choice’s Brad Myers, is to give consumers the information they need to negotiate for themselves and make informed decisions when it comes to paying for their health care.
Looking at the data, some trends seem to emerge. Often the communities with the well-known medical research centers seem to be some of the most expensive places to have procedures done – or they at least go higher on the high-end of costs.
