Prices: A Dose of Competition

Consumer complaints about the high cost of health care have produced results in Maryland. This summer the state attorney general’s office will issue a free guide to help people save money on medical treatment. The booklet, the first of its kind in the U.S., will list the names of about 13,000 Maryland doctors and health professionals and how much they charge for services, especially office visits, diagnostic tests and surgical procedures. Shoppers will find that costs can vary greatly. For example, an appendectomy performed in Baltimore could range from $800 to $1,000. But that fee drops to between $150 and $400 if the operation is performed outside the city.