MAY 2, 2006 -- Eighty-four percent of Americans believe hospitals, doctors, and pharmacies should publish prices on all goods and services, according to a poll released Monday by the Council for Affordable Health Insurance, a group that favors market-oriented solutions to health care.
In addition, the poll, conducted by Zogby International, finds that 79 percent of respondents said they would likely use that data to shop around for the best price, with 51 percent responding they would be "very likely" to shop around and 28 percent saying they would be "somewhat likely" to shop around.
According to the poll's findings, "Among those most likely to say they would shop around for the best price are Hispanics (89 percent), 20- to 34-year-olds (88 percent), and those earning between $25,000 and $35,000 a year (84 percent)." For the poll, Zogby conducted 1,209 interviews nationwide between April 17–24. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points, with the margin higher in the poll's subgroups.