Who Decides the Price of Health Care?

Last week the US Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a price list for services at hospitals across the country. In East Central Illinois, the data showed that prices for the same procedures vary widely depending on which hospital you’re at in the area. This hour on Focus, host Jim Meadows talks with two health care finance experts about why this could be and who determines the cost for health care.

John Katsinas is a broker with the Barham Benefit Group in Champaign and works with Champaign County Health Consumers. He'll be here to talk with us about local insurance markets and how that influences the cost of services at local hospitals. Jim Unland, President of the Health Capital Group and editor of the Journal of Health Care Finance also joins us. He says the variance in price has to do with a "cat and mouse game" between insurers and care providers.