Doctors' list puts a price on care

California's largest private physician practice has become one of the first doctor groups in the nation, and almost certainly the largest, to make prices for its medical procedures widely available to consumers.

The move by Torrance-based HealthCare Partners Medical Group, which serves more than 500,000 patients, puts a significant crack in the ages-old reluctance by doctors and other medical providers to let consumers comparison shop for services such as chest X-rays, baby vaccinations and Pap smears.

HealthCare Partners quietly posted on its website last week prices for 58 common procedures.

Patients can go on the group's website and find that a chest X-ray runs $61 and that a physical examination for a middle-aged patient ranges from $140 to $160. Flu vaccinations are listed at $15, although HealthCare Partners notes that it adds a $31 administrative fee for the first vaccination and $18 for each additional shot on the same visit.

HealthCare Partners' effort could prompt other physician groups to follow suit, given the competitive nature of Southern California's healthcare market, some experts said.

"It feels like the right thing to do," said Robert Margolis, a founding physician and chief executive of the medical group.

The move was motivated in part by the rapid advance of walk-in medical clinics at drugstore chains and discount retailers, such as CVS Caremark Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., where the prices of blood pressure checks and flu shots are as easy to spot as those for rubbing alcohol and cat food.

HealthCare Partners' price list also answers calls from President Bush and others to give consumers the information to make better healthcare choices. Proponents believe that shifting medical costs to patients, along with price tags, will blunt the nation's runaway medical bill by curbing unnecessary care and infusing price competition into the marketplace.

But although some insurers such as Aetna Inc. have begun posting prices for certain procedures in some regions, physicians have been loath to develop or disclose retail prices because of a perception that it would demean the profession. Also, until recently, patients weren't asking because insurers paid most of their bills.

Now, employers are increasingly shifting costs onto employees through higher deductibles and co-payments and through so-called health savings accounts, said Chris Ohman, chief executive of the California Assn. of Health Plans, a trade group that represents insurers.