Consumerism in health care: is price transparency good for the cause?

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the consumerism movement in health care and the implications of price transparency for the cause. A document analysis of supplier-side sentiments suggests health-care organizations are concerned this move will hinder not help consumers. Design/methodology/approach Document analysis of a supplier community has been applied in an analysis of policy-related communication between the US Government and hospital associations. Findings Empirical findings suggest that at both the institutional and cultural level, responsibility for health decision-making is obscured with easily misunderstood price information. Originality/value This paper explores the applicability of document analysis as a tool to understand cultural and institutional narratives.