Consumers who chose less expensive MRI exams after receiving price information helped save $220 per test in total health system costs, according to a new study published in Health Affairs.
The study was commissioned by WellPoint subsidiary AIM Specialty Health and conducted by HealthCore, another subsidiary. Researchers reviewed data from about 100,000 members in WellPoint-affiliated health plans in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast from 2010 to 2012 (Health Affairs, August 2014, Vol. 33:8, pp. 1391-1398).
Approximately 61,000 members were made aware by telephone of MR imaging cost differences and alternate providers when an order was made to a facility of much higher cost, while 44,000 were not, WellPoint said.
Between 2010 and 2012, the average price for an MRI in the member group that did not have the education program increased by $125, while it decreased by $95 in the group with price transparency and education, resulting in net health system savings of $220 per test, the study concluded.
