Four Surprising Facts About Healthcare From Our 120 User Interviews

Would you ever eat at a restaurant that didn't list its prices on the menu? If you answered no, then why would you go to a doctor's office without knowing how much it's going to cost either?
 

Healthcare pricing is undeniably complex. But, what's especially puzzling is the inability to know how much your doctor's appointment is going to cost beforehand. Despite this uncertainty, thousands of Americans still go to the doctors every day and deal with this conundrum.

Last year, we received a grant from the National Science Foundation and conducted 120 interviews. What we learned was nothing short of fascinating...
 

1. What is your number one frustration with healthcare?

While we initially thought costs would be the number one issue, 7 out of 10 people actually identified "not knowing the cost" as the main barrier preventing them from going to the doctor.

This discrepancy is very interesting and brings us back to our restaurant analogy. Oddly, healthcare is the only industry where consumers buy something without knowing how much it's going to cost. This facet combined with rising out-of-pocket costs has made people become much more sensitive to prices and unsure of what to do. The bottom line here: when consumers don't know what to do, they do nothing.