Web site compares medical costs

To the editor:

We all know that good health care is priceless. Whether it is getting help for a sick child in the middle of the night or a routine checkup that becomes anything but routine, we want the best when it comes to our health and the health of our loved ones.

Americans are spending $1.9 trillion a year on health care. By 2015, health-care costs are projected to consume $3.5 trillion -- 20 percent of the gross domestic product.

The Department of Health and Human Services is resolving to find ways to increase the quality of care while reducing costs. To do so, we need to do three things:

People need to know how much their health care costs.

They need to know the quality of the care they receive.

And they need to have a reason to care.

Right now, none of these things exist in our health-care system.

Consumers should be able to go to an Internet site, type in the name of a common medical procedure and make comparisons. As a first step, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have posted on their Web site 30 most common medical procedures by state with their costs. The Web address is www.cms.hhs.gov/healthcareconinit.

Transparency in health care is empowering you with information you need when considering a medical procedure.

FRED SCHUSTER, Region 7 Director, Department of Health and Human Services, Kansas City, Mo.