By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    learn to recognize and treat yeast infections
    Most Commonly Asked Questions About Yeast Infections
    November 17, 2021
    Advanced lung cancer diagnosis systems used by doctors
    Advanced Lung Cancer Diagnosis Systems Used by Doctors
    March 6, 2022
    The Top Benefits of a Wearable Blood Pressure Monitor Watch
    The Top Benefits of a Wearable Blood Pressure Monitor Watch
    June 13, 2022
    Latest News
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    July 31, 2025
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Soaring Medical Costs Pinned on Medical Devices
    June 7, 2011
    Debt Ceiling Negotiations on Health Care are Mere Cost Shifting
    July 15, 2011
    Is Kathleen Sebelius Listening to the NCPA?
    August 29, 2011
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Massachusetts Insurance Companies Reveal Health-Cost Calculators
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Finance > Massachusetts Insurance Companies Reveal Health-Cost Calculators
BusinessFinanceHealth ReformPolicy & LawPublic Health

Massachusetts Insurance Companies Reveal Health-Cost Calculators

Jeanne Pinder
Jeanne Pinder
Share
4 Min Read
MassHealthPremiums
SHARE

MassHealthPremiums

MassHealthPremiums

Summary: Massachusetts is live with its effort to reveal health care prices. As of Oct. 1, insurance companies were bound to reveal what insured people will pay for procedures, and so far the results of those revelations are not clear. 

This is important not just because health cost transparency is one of our favorite issues; it’s also important because knowing what things cost is a factor in how people choose treatment and what they pay for their health insurance and for their treatments.

More Read

cleveland clinic
Understanding the Drivers of the Patient Experience
Google’s Upcoming Changes: How it Will Hurt the Growth of Private Practices
Health Disparities Still Problematic
Can “Portfolio Theory” Be Applied to NIH Funding Decisions?
Wanted: A Youth Party to Tackle Health Care

Our friend Martha Bebinger took some of the transparency calculators for a test drive and wrote about them for WBUR in Boston. She’s a great reporter, and she noticed some strengths and some weaknesses.  Here’s her post.

For now, we don’t have access to these calculators, so we’ll report some of Bebinger’s observations:

“1.) Prices are not standard, they vary from one insurer to the next. I shopped for a bone density test. The low price was $16 at Tufts Health Plan, $87 on the Harvard-Pilgrim Health Care site and $190 at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Why? Insurers negotiate their own rates with physicians and hospitals. And some of the prices include all charges related to your test, others don’t (see No. 2).

“2.) Posted prices may or may not include all charges, for example the cost of reading a test or a facility fee. Each insurer is defining ‘price’ as they see fit. Read the fine print.

“3.) Prices seem to change frequently. The first time I shopped for a bone density test at Blue Cross, the low price was $120. Five days later it had gone up to $190.

“4.) There is no standard list of priced tests and procedures. I found the price of an MRI for the upper back through Harvard Pilgrim’s Now iKnow tool. That test is ‘not found’ through the Blue Cross ‘Find a Doc’ tool.”

Among the big drawbacks of this approach: If I lived in Massachusetts, it seems, I could use only my insurance company’s calculator. So would I be able to compare as Bebinger has? That seems crucial as people look to choosing their insurance plans.

 High underlying costs, high premiums

It’s also true that the underlying costs of items and procedures in health care are a primary source of rising insurance premiums.

Massachusetts has the highest health insurance premiums in the nation for private, employer-sponsored health plans, as shown in the chart above, from this Commonwealth Fund study.

Why? Health care costs a lot. There are a lot of high-priced providers in Massachusetts. Also, the state has consistently ranked among the states with a high per-capita income. Don’t forget, the state has one of the highest percentages of insured people, having adopted Romneycare well before the rest of the nation was affected by the Affordable Care Act.

Massachusetts also has the highest annual per-capita health care spending in the nation, shown in the chart below, from The Wall Street Journal, based on federal statistics.

Other states have variations on transparency tools: you can find many of them on our “Useful Links” page, listed state by state. I love this Texas one, personally: it doesn’t restrict your search by insurer, but gives a statewide view of prices.

 

Per-capita healthcare spending

TAGGED:Massachusetts
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
Health
July 31, 2025
holistic dental
Holistic Dentist Services Are Natural and Safe
Dental health Specialties
July 28, 2025
botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025
Telemedicine Apps
Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
Health
July 20, 2025

You Might also Like

biopharma beat innovation and imagination
DiagnosticseHealthGlobal HealthcareMedical DevicesMedical EducationMedical EthicsMedical InnovationsMobile HealthPublic HealthWellness

BioPharma Beat: Imagination Is More Important Than Innovation

August 5, 2014

Sealants, Glues, Hemostats, Anti-Adhesion: An Evolved Market

July 9, 2014
medicaid
Health ReformNewsPolicy & LawPublic Health

Paul Krugman: Stop Being an Embarrassment to the Profession

March 7, 2013
grow an allied health clinic
Health care

Five Tips for Growing Your Allied Health Clinic

October 27, 2022
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?