The limited networks are the insurance companies doing exactly this.

Reader comment on: An Alternative to ObamaCare

Submitted by Lyle (United States), Dec 26, 2013 22:06

The insurance companies are doing the shopping and deciding who meets their cost and quality requirements. In particular the new reference pricing has the insurance companies setting a reimbursement for a proceedure at about the 60th percentile of the cost range (typically as much as a factor of 3 between different hospitals). So in one sense it is being done but by the consumer's agent, since in at least one sense the insurance company is a consumer's agent.

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