The market for health care is not like markets for other goods and services. Information on prices is not typically available, decisions about where to get life-saving care are often made in an emergency, and patients lack knowledge about the value of diagnostic and treatment services and the comparative effectiveness of alternative therapies, or where to go for the best care with the best prospects for full recovery, functioning, and quality of life.
However, there are ways we can improve the functioning of the health care market and increase the value of what we pay for care. The Affordable Care Act includes important provisions to increase access to information on the quality of physician and hospital care and establish multi-payer databases that will provide a more comprehensive picture of patterns of care across providers. It also begins to address the imbalance between primary and specialty care by increasing primary care payment rates under Medicare and Medicaid.
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