Patients will demand prices...

When they bear the lion's share of the cost. The article by Wendy Ebner, "Patients Must Know the Costs of Medical Procedures," assumes that patients will alter their decisions if they are given accurate price information. Pretend for a minute that food insurance exists is the same way health insurance operates. At a restaurant, I face a $10 co-pay, but beyond that, shrouded in mystery and legal jargon, is essentially the fact that the insurer covers everything else. Am I going to ask the price of the filet mignon? No. I don't care. The fixed cost of entering the restaurant was the $10 co-pay. Beyond that, everything is free at point of service. Fortunately, the restaurant business has avoided third party payment schemes and food is getting cheaper every year relative to percentage of household income.

Healthcare has not been so fortunate. The third party system remains entrenched and will only get worse as more and more of Obamacare comes into operation. Only those patients that face paying the bill themselves will demand prices. Since they remain in the minority, healthcare providers will continue to be elusive with their prices.