Health insurance costs could go through the roof

From BostonHerald.com

By Jennifer Heldt Powell



Health insurance for a family of four could cost a whopping $30,000 a year a decade from now unless drastic steps are taken to curb skyrocketing costs, according to a study to be released today.



Doctors and hospitals have to be more upfront about their charges and consumers must be pushed into being more cost conscious, according to the report by the Massachusetts Business Roundtable.



?Unless the system becomes more affordable, we?re going to crash into a wall,? said Alan MacDonald, head of the business group.



The report was co-written by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care chief Charles D. Baker and Thomas H. Lee, network president for Partners HealthCare, parent of Brigham and Women?s and Massachusetts General Hospital.



The two normally sit on opposite sides of the negotiating table, but in the report they agree that costs are too high and that not enough is being done to bring them down.



The report suggests creating an independent agency that can collect information about health-care costs, quality and how well hospitals and doctors are doing. Among other suggestions, the report calls for more consideration of consumer-driven health plans, which have high deductibles.



If consumers have to pay more of the cost of health care, they are less likely to seek services they don?t need and more likely to choose cheaper providers, MacDonald said.



The report is an update to one done three years ago that called for more transparency in the system.



Only a small amount of progress has been made since then, MacDonald said.