The stories explained to readers the lack of transparency that exists for all consumers when they pay for healthcare. Even large, public employers with self-funded health plans that use taxpayer money, such as Miami-Dade County, which spends more than $400 million a year on employee health claims, are not privy to the prices negotiated between healthcare providers and insurers. The stories explained how the system works, and why the lack of transparency makes it nearly impossible for consumers, especially large employers, to design cost-saving strategies, or to even identify the high-priced healthcare providers in their market and create incentives for employees to use lower-priced providers. The story also examined the sometimes extreme and often unwarranted variations in prices for the same procedures at different facilities.
