The Mysterious Case of the Vanishing Health Care Price-Comparison Ad

Peter Hochstein

Early this year, says copywriter Peter Hochstein, “a group medical practice called the Toledo Clinic in Toledo, Ohio, got what must have seemed like a bright marketing idea.

“With the help of a mom-and-pop advertising agency called Modern TECHnique in Avon, Ohio, the clinic ran a full-page ad in the daily Toledo Blade. The ads compared the rates that The Toledo Clinic charges for radiology and laboratory procedures with those of two local hospital systems, ProMedica and Mercy Health Partners.”

Hochstein learned about the ad after reading two news stories that ran in the Blade in April, as well as an opinion piece in the same newspaper by a local retired surgeon who now works as a Blade columnist.

The catch? “Suddenly, nobody who is connected to the ad or who is one of its fans appears willing to discuss it. Or to show me the ad,” Hochstein says.

Did the Toledo Clinic go too far? Are direct cost comparisons still verboten when it comes to healthcare marketing? Read our full story and learn more: Speechless in Toledo: A Group Medical Practice Ad Compared Its Prices to Those of Local Hospitals. But Suddenly, Nobody Seems Willing to Talk About It.

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