Price shopping for health care

As consumers we have the ability to do price and value comparisons for our homes, cars and the majority of good and services we buy. While we still have a long way to go, strides are being made to help Americans do the same for health care.

The Healthcare Blue Book, a free resource for consumers, publishes what it determines to be a "fair price" for various medical services, based on a review of claims data as well as consumer-submitted reports.

Employers and insurance companies can pay for access to a version that lists in-network providers ranked by value. Recently, Healthcare Blue Book launched a subscription service for patient-centered medical homes, so that primary care physicians can work with their patients to make referrals to high-quality, lower-cost providers.

There are also free mobile apps available.