The lack ofcost transparency has long been an issue in health care, but it hasbeen exacerbated in recent years by an increase in "narrow network"health plans. (Image: Shutterstock)

Medical providers aren't doing nearly enough to help patientsprepare for the cost of their treatments. In fact, a new surveysuggests that providers rarely provide information about costs topatients, which helps explain the dramatic uptick in surprise bills over the last few years.

In a survey of 801 health insurance consumers, allof whom have purchased ACA-compliant plans through eHealth, 30percent reported "never" getting an out-of-pocket estimate fortheir out-of-pocket costs from medical providers while 28 percentsaid they "rarely" received such information.

Only 10 percent reported "always" getting an out-of-pocketestimate, while 13 percent said they usually received one. Nineteenpercent said they got one "sometimes."

Related: What to do about surprise bills? It's not soclear-cut.

However, the survey showed that estimates hardly preventedsurprise bills. Of those who reported getting an estimate from aprovider, 44 percent said the bill ended up being moreexpensive.

The lack of cost transparency has long been an issue in healthcare, but it has been exacerbated in recent years by an increase in"narrow network" health plans that lead many patients to getout-of-network charges.

It's not clear how closely the survey sample, which consistsentirely of those who purchased health plans through eHealth, anonline insurance broker, aligns with the general population.

Costs are weighing heavily on patients whether or not providersdiscuss them. Sixty-three percent of those surveyed reportedforgoing health care treatments –– such as doctor visits orprescriptions –– due to cost. Roughly half (48 percent) say thatthe cost of deductibles and copays is their top concern whenseeking medical treatment. In the long-run, however, the topconcern is the cost of monthly premiums, cited by 53 percent.

Rising health care costs has clearly led many consumers tobelieve the government needs to step in. When presented with fourways to lower the cost of health care, the most popular option (63percent) was to place caps on prescription drug costs. Thirty-fourpercent supported raising taxes on the rich to subsidize care forothers, while 27 percent said doctors and hospitals should makeless money.

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