Hospitals in Colorado can charge wildly different fees for the same procedure. A new tool offers patients some clarity

In The NOCO

Paying for a hospital visit often ends in a guessing game. For example, if you hurt your ankle and need an X-ray, you could pay a few hundred dollars – or nothing at all – depending on which hospital you go to and the deal they’ve negotiated with your insurance company.

That fluctuation in pricing from hospital to hospital is true for many procedures in Colorado.

But some new websites might help consumers find answers. One of them – ColoradoHospitalPrices.com – was developed by a nonprofit to let patients look up price estimates for various procedures and find the best value.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis was so impressed he promoted the site in a press conference last week. He said it’s a first step to creating market pressure that will level out price differentiation.

John Ingold is a health reporter for The Colorado Sun who has been covering this story. He spoke with In the NoCo’s Brad Turner about the these websites and how they could help Coloradans.

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Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.