[fires10]

Most medical decisions are not shopped. It has nothing to do with competition. Quality of care is first and foremost for me. I want to live costs be damned. Only rarely will cost come into it as a decision for me. Only on things I don't need. This is for both emergency and non-emergency care. I don't know of anyone who seriously and consistently looks at costs when making medical decisions. I usually have higher priorities.

[Tostino]

You don't know people who live near the margins then. Cost was pretty much the primary decider for me prior to making a decent living, so much so that I put off rotator cuff surgery for 10 years because I couldn't afford to have it done, no matter how much I "shopped around".

[sokka_h2otribe]

I think the posters comment was in a vacuum- I, too, did not consider cost when I got a surgery.

It was part because costs aren't transparent, but also because the costs were the same to me after deductible.

The only truly cost aware folks in the system would be Amish on community insurance funds or similar odd edge cases

[Jensson]

> Most medical decisions are not shopped .. Quality of care is first and foremost for me

So you shop around for quality? That is still shopping around.

If customers could try to get the highest quality for their money that also works, doesn't have to try to find the cheapest.

[userinanother]

The market is so non transparent you can’t shop for quality or cost. The system forces you into random provider to optimize allocation efficiency not cost or quality. You can resist that but it often means everything takes significantly longer

[SoftTalker]

The vast majority of medical care is not life and death. It is completely routine. It's getting vaccines, it's getting checkups, it's getting antibiotics for your sinus infection, it's getting treatment for sprains and strains. You're not going to be price-conscious on any of that? Do you go to the mayo clinic for your annual physical?

[fires10]

Yes, I actually go to the Mayo Clinic for primary care. It is actually cheaper than the rural doctors and hospital I live near. There is no shopping around for cost. The decision is do I trust the doctor or not. I drive to Mayo because the local doctors make to many mistakes and are not familiar enough with a variety of ailments.