New York City Health Department unveiled the New York City Health Care Price Comparison Tool on the 23rd, aiming to assist New Yorkers in making informed decisions about healthcare while holding medical service providers and insurance companies more accountable in pricing.
This new website allows users to search and compare the prices of common healthcare services within New York City, regardless of whether the user has insurance. The link to access the tool is: https://tinyurl.com/4w92zpnd
The Health Care Price Comparison Tool enables city residents to compare prices of 33 common healthcare services offered by various hospitals, outpatient surgical centers, and imaging medical centers in the city, ranging from ankle joint repair to X-ray examinations and more.
Users can also estimate their out-of-pocket costs for services within the network based on 12 popular commercial insurance plans and the 3 basic insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Additionally, if patients are uninsured, the tool provides self-pay options. It is expected that this tool will benefit patients, healthcare navigators and advocates, local policymakers, as well as oversight bodies including media.
The launch of this tool follows legislation proposed by Councilwoman Julie Menin, which led to the establishment of the Office of Healthcare Accountability within the Health Department. Councilwoman Menin stated in a release that the New York City Health Care Price Comparison Tool helps city residents in seeking high-quality healthcare services by making informed and cost-conscious choices, while also providing policymakers and advocates with the data necessary to control escalating healthcare costs.