We study where privately insured individuals receive planned MRI scans. Despite significant out-of-pocket costs for this undifferentiated service, privately insured patients often receive care in high-priced locations when lower priced options were available. The median patient in our data has 16 MRI providers within a 30-minute drive of her home. On average, patients bypass 6 lower-priced providers between their homes and their actual treatment locations. Referring physicians heavily influence where patients receive care. The share of the variance in the prices of patients’ MRI scans that referrer fixed effects (52 percent) explain is dramatically greater than the share explained by patient cost-sharing (< 1 percent), patient characteristics (< 1 percent), or patients’ home HRR fixed effects (2 percent). In order to access lower cost providers, patients must generally diverge from physicians’ established referral patterns.

我们研究私人保险个人在哪里接受计划的 MRI 扫描。尽管这种无差别服务的自付费用很高，但当有低价选择时，私人保险患者通常会在高价地点接受护理。我们数据中的中位数患者在距离她家 30 分钟车程的范围内有 16 个 MRI 提供者。平均而言，患者在他们的家和实际治疗地点之间绕过 6 个价格较低的提供者。转诊医生严重影响患者接受护理的地点。推荐人固定效应 (52%) 解释的患者 MRI 扫描价格差异的份额显着大于患者成本分摊 (< 1%)、患者特征 (< 1%) 或患者解释的份额' 家庭 HRR 固定效应（2%）。