I’ve been on the road a lot the last couple of weeks and on my travels I came across a newspaper article  about Dr. Leslie Ramirez and the creation of the Website www.Leslieslist.org. Apparently Leslie’s mother had recently become unemployed and was considering cancelling a mammogram due to lack of insurance. Leslie insisted that she keep the appointment and assisted her mother in finding the location with the lowest cost f0r the test. From there, Leslie’s List was born with the unpaid help of Leslie and some of her friends. The list helps people in the Chicago area compare costs for treatments, office visits and pharmaceuticals.

What I find interesting is that for all of the talk the last couple of years both in the health care industry and government about the need for greater transparency, here are a few folks who are doing something about it. It’s not fancy. They pick-up the phone and call around the city looking for pricing information. And there are plenty of disclaimers on the site about the accuracy of the information. That said, however, it is a quick and easy tool to get cost information out in the open, which is an important consideration for many people when it comes to health care decisons.

Leslie’s List also demonstrates to me what I think I have been believing all along. Real and sustainable change will be achieved through the actions of individuals deciding to take action versus some sort of legislated initiative.  So while folks gather in Washington, D.C., to talk about “solving the health care crisis,” Leslie and her team are taking action and bringing basic, important information to others in their community. We’ll see how it goes.

–Dave