Marketplace Today Blog

By Jason Stein
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Patients will receive more information about the cost of their medical treatments, under a bill signed by Gov. Jim Doyle Tuesday.

The law requires health-care providers to disclose the costs of the most common medical procedures.

“Nowhere else are people asked to buy a product before they know what the price is,” Doyle said in a statement. “This bill is a practical step forward that will help people better understand what their health-care costs are before making important health-care decisions.”

The law will require hospitals to disclose average prices for the 75 most common inpatient services and 75 most common outpatient services based on their contracts with commercial health plans.

The measure also requires the same information be disclosed for the 25 most common services provided by free-standing outpatient facilities, such as surgical and imaging centers, and by doctors.

The specific prices negotiated by health insurers with health-care systems, doctors and other providers will remain confidential. The legislation also exempts physician practices with three or fewer doctors.