Is healthcare the only industry that allows the client (a patient) to walk away without a “comparison quote” before services?

When I take my car in to get it fixed, I ask for a quote and get a price and compare it. When I have my plumbing fixed I can get a price and compare.

Just the other day, I wanted to get a quote for a surgical procedure. There is no specific guide on how to compare prices within the healthcare industry. Insurance companies have different plans, HMO’s, PPO’s, POS’s and the like. They cover 80/20, 60/40 with deductibles and copays that are as clear as mud. Still, questions remain about providers whether they are in or out of networks. Is the hospital in the network? Is the anesthesiologist in the network? It goes on and on.

I literally spent three hours of my time researching prices and rates. At the end of my discovery, I was more frustrated than when I started.

How many doctors or hospitals actually check their prices before services? How many patients are aware that they can get such information and compare it with other providers? In a recent AHA survey:

The AHA survey, released Wednesday, shows that 34 percent of hospitals expect to report losses in the first half of 2009, up from 29 percent in the same period last year, and indicators of hospital capacity to meet their financial obligations are falling.

Hospitals report that more patients are going to emergency rooms without insurance, fewer patients are seeking elective services, and nine out of 10 hospitals have had to cut back to address economic concerns.

Other survey results include:

• A greater proportion of patients cannot afford care, and many hospitals are seeing more patients covered by Medicaid and other public programs for low-income populations.
• The community’s need for subsidized services, such as clinics, screenings and outreach, is increasing even as charitable contributions are declining for many hospitals.
• More than half of the hospitals surveyed have reduced staff.
• Eight out of 10 have cut administrative expenses.
• One in five have reduced services that communities depend on, including behavioral health, post-acute care, clinic, patient education and other services that require subsidies.

Despite the actions hospitals have taken to weather the economic storm, seven in 10 hospitals reported a decline in overall financial health that will affect their ability to care for their communities, according to the AHA study.

Some hospitals reported that they are beginning to see improvements in the situation in the capital since December last year. However, since the beginning of 2008, seven in 10 hospitals have cut capital spending for facility improvements, clinical technology, and/or information technology.

Eight in 10 hospitals report an increase in the degree to which physicians seek financial support from hospitals, including payment and/or on-call employment.

The survey was based on surveys sent to all community hospital CEOs in August 2009. Data was collected through September 8, and 768 responses were received.

The AHA said the respondents were broadly representative of community hospitals.