> but this doesn't mean it brings with it lower costs It's not a certainty, but the odds are far higher than having 0 chance of shopping by phone/website, whic

> but this doesn't mean it brings with it lower costs It's not a certainty, but the odds are far higher than having 0 chance of shopping by phone/website, which is the way the US medical industry currently exists. > grocery stores Have accurate prices on every item. They calculate most of the variables at the display and all of the variables at the time of the transaction. They are a great example of somewhat complex pricing being transparent. Grocery profit margins are tiny (usually in the 1-3% range). Sure, the occasional store and the occasional item right before a special event may bring in a larger margin, but grocery stores are an example of effective price transparency working. Like you, I'm not hopeful that price transparency would fix much, but at least it would distinguish the "Shop-n-Save" medical center from the "Lunardi's" (premium grocers in affluent Silicon Valley suburbs) of medical centers. Right now we can't even distinguish those classes of prices across medical providers.