Are Medical Tests More Affordable in Sarasota?

The cost for an MRI averages $270 less in Sarasota County than it does in Manatee.

That difference is underscored by New Choice Health, a private company that collects data and encourages people to become smarter health-care consumers.

People with health care insurance may not be used to price shopping, like they do for other big-ticket items, such as new vehicles or appliances.

But there are differences that can run into the hundreds or even thousands of dollars. 

Sarasota County fares better than the state, on average, when it comes to costly diagnostic tests that many people will undergo in their lifetime. Costs for colonoscopies, CT scans, mammograms and MRIs are cheaper on average in Sarasota County than the rest of the state.

Indeed, Sarasota consumers also tend to pay less on average than their neighbors in Manatee pay for some big-ticket diagnostic tests.

• For example, the average price for a colonoscopy in Sarasota is $2,460, compared to $2,560 in Manatee.
• CT scans average $1,750 in Sarasota and $2,210 in Manatee.
• MRIs average $1,920 in Sarasota and $2,190 in Manatee.

These differences have been in the news lately. Higher costs end up being passed along to consumers in the form of higher insurance premiums.

The differences also can be be glaring, when national studies are done. As the Washington Post wrote on Wednesday, "One hospital charges $8,000 - another $38,000."

Patch worked with New Choice Health to examine the cost of four well-known procedures in Patch communities across the country and found disparities for CT scans, colonoscopies, MRIs and mammograms.

The prices from the New Choice Health marketplace reflect the “list price” for these procedures – kind of like the sticker price on a car. Health insurance companies often end up getting different discounts and reimbursements depending on the arrangements they have worked out with providers.

But the point, says New Choice’s Brad Myers, is to give consumers the information they need to negotiate for themselves and make informed decisions when it comes to paying for their health care.

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