Does Your Doctor Know How Much That Costs?

A local group  (run by a former classmate of mine) is accepting entries for an annual contest that highlights stories of medical costs gone wild.

The group Costs of Care’s mission is that: 

All doctors should understand how the decisions they make impact what patients pay.

The prompts for the contest stress the importance of all stakeholders being more aware of the impact of decisions that we make in receiving our health care.

Do you have a story about a medical bill that was higher than you expected it to be? Or a time when you wanted to know how much a medical test or treatment might cost? How about a time you figured out a way to save money while still receiving high-value care?

Unlike any other purchase, we rarely act as consumers of health care. When was the last time you called to ask for a price or switched providers based on the cost of the care?

Here are the rest of the details for the contest:

As part of our second annual essay contest, Costs of Care, a nonprofit group based in Boston, is offering $4000 in prizes for anecdotes like these that illustrate the importance of cost-awareness in medicine. Judges will include former White House Budget Director Peter Orzsag, former United States Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, Governor Jennifer Granholm, women’s health and cancer research advocate Dr. Susan Love, and Harvard University Provost Dr. Alan Garber.

The mission of Costs of Care is to expand the national discourse on the role of care providers in controlling healthcare costs. The stories we receive as part of our second annual essay contest will provide everyday examples from across the nation that illustrate the power patients and healthcare workers have to curb costs at a grassroots level.

Submissions should be no longer than 750 words and are due by November 15th. More details are available at www.CostsOfCare.org/essay.

You can also read about our winning essays from last year here.