Transcripts

President Bush Gives Patients The Power of Information

PAUL KANGAS: Shopping for health care is about to get a bit easier. Today President Bush signed a measure aimed at giving Americans more information about government-sponsored healthcare plans, like Medicare. Private insurers are also making similar moves, so their members can learn more about their doctors and quality of care. Still, as Stephanie Dhue reports, not everyone agrees that learning more will lead to lower health care costs.

STEPHANIE DHUE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Consumers shopping for a car have a wealth of information they can use to compare price, safety, and reliability. President Bush wants to give consumers the same kind of information so they can shop for health care.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Health care policy ought to be aimed at bolstering the consumer, empowering individuals to be responsible for health care decisions.

DHUE: To increase transparency in health care, the president signed an executive order directing Federal agencies that run or work with health insurance programs to share information about quality and prices. Some private insurers are already beginning to share that kind of information with their members. This week, Aetna put onto its web site expanded information about the doctors in its network, including quality ratings, and how much those doctors are paid to do procedures. Aetna says this will help clarify the true cost of health care.

WILLIAM FRIED, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, AETNA: This will allow an Aetna member to go online and to see exactly what Aetna reimburses physicians for specific medical procedures and will also allow members to see how physicians are viewed with regard to clinical performance and efficient delivery of care.

DHUE: Insurance provider Wellpoint is also bolstering its online tools so its members can know the average cost of medical procedures and compare prices for prescription drugs. Some observers say while more information for patients is positive, it will do little to drive down the increasing cost of health care.

ROBERT BERENSON, HEALTH POLICY FELLOW, URBAN INSTITUTE: Most health care costs are associated with people with chronic conditions. Five percent of people in Medicare generate 50 percent of the costs and so if you make some consumers more cost conscious and that`s a desirable thing to do, we`re still not going to dent the cost problem which is associated with people with very high health spending.

DHUE: Experts say while people want more information, they may not want to shop for health care the way they shop for cars. Instead they count on doctors to guide them through complex procedures and refer them to specialists. Stephanie Dhue, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Washington.