iHealthBeat: A new Minnesota Web site (carol.com) recently launched, allows area residents compare the cost and quality of more than 350 health services from local, competing health care providers and select a care provider. The site also lets users apply their health insurance benefits and view base prices and estimated in-network and out-of-pocket costs for health care services.
Fees for providers participating on the site range from several hundred to several thousand dollars. In addition, providers pay a small fee when users make a transaction on the site (The success of Carol.com is dependent on whether hospitals and clinics embrace the idea of bundling and pricing care with consumers, not insurers, in mind and making it easy to compare).