Earlier this week, I brought up an example of the web reflecting rather than driving popular culture, in this case, websites that create artificial exclusivity to mirror scarcity offline. Well here's a counter-example: cross-shopping behavior.
The web has drastically reduced the effort required to cross-shop, particular by price. And comparison-shopping engines like Froogle and Shopping.com have the task even easier.
Now Vimo.com is looking to bring private and public data to help you cross-shop for...health care services. The site lets you compare health plans, doctors, or even individual treatments side-by-side.
It's a classic problem for the Internet to solve - a huge lack of pricing transparency, uneven distribution of information, and a vexing intermediary (your health insurer) that may or may not always act in your best interests.
My Medical Control, another web-based company, tackles the post-service end of the business- they will take your medical bill and bargain it down for you, the same service a claims adjuster would do for a major insurer- less a 35% commission on any savings. (According to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, health care spending is set to double in the next decade, to more than $4 trillion a year, a fifth of the gross domestic product).
Of course, there are limits to cross-shopping for healthcare by price - your out-of-pocket costs will vary, quality of care is an intangible benefit, and your specific treatment will likely differ from your neighbor's. Still, it's fascinating to see the Internet-led "informed consumer" model seeping into the byzantine health care system. Read more in the New York Times.
Misha Cornes
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consumer trends
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Strategists & Planners
Comments (1)
It's always nice when you can not only be informed, but also entertained! I'm sure you had fun writing this article. Excellent entry! I'm been looking for topics as interesting as this. Looking forward to your next post.
Posted on August 10, 2009 02:05