Consumers' Checkbook

Consumers' Checkbook, formally the Center for the Study of Services, is an independent American nonprofit consumer-information organization established in 1974. It was created by Robert Krughoff after an unsatisfactory automobile-repair experience convinced him that consumers needed more dependable, impartial information about local service providers. The organization began with a Washington, D.C.-area publication evaluating businesses such as automobile mechanics and plumbers, and later expanded into a broad collection of city guides, online comparison tools, health-care surveys, and specialized purchasing services. The organization’s central proposition is that consumers can make better decisions when they have access to structured information about quality, price, service reliability, and customer experience. Its assessments have drawn on consumer surveys, undercover shopping, expert questionnaires, complaints filed with consumer agencies, and analysis of public records and government databases. Unlike many commercial media and review businesses, Consumers' Checkbook has historically operated without display advertising in its consumer publications. It has instead relied on subscriptions and other research contracts, a model intended to reduce commercial pressure on ratings and editorial recommendations. Its local publications initially concentrated on consumer services in individual metropolitan areas. The first issue appeared in 1974, and the organization launched its first publication outside Washington in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1982. A larger geographic expansion followed in 2003, adding coverage for Seattle-Tacoma, the Twin Cities, Chicago, the Philadelphia metropolitan area, and Boston. The local guides compare providers in categories that have included home repair, automobile services, health care, and other frequently purchased services. The organization also produces price-comparison research, including comparisons of grocery stores and other local businesses. Health care became one of Consumers' Checkbook’s most important areas of activity. It has published the Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees since 1979 and later developed online health-plan comparison resources. Its health-plan research has been used or republished by organizations including Medicare, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and U.S. News & World Report. The organization has also produced the Consumers' Guide to Health Plans, the Consumers' Guide to Hospitals, and the Consumers' Guide to Top Doctors. The hospital guide evaluates approximately 4,500 acute-care hospitals, while the doctor guide identifies recommended specialists across major U.S. metropolitan areas. Additional projects have included SurgeonRatings.org, Patient Central, physician-experience surveys using the Clinician/Group CAHPS instrument, and the MNsure health-insurance price-comparison site. A significant part of the organization’s later income has come from contract surveys conducted for health plans, including health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations, Medicare Advantage plans, and Medicare prescription-drug plans. In the period described by reference material from 2018, health-plan survey work represented the largest share of its budget, while subscriptions supported its local-business evaluations. This dual model gives Consumers' Checkbook both a consumer-publication identity and a research-services business serving institutional clients. Consumers' Checkbook has also operated specialized automobile purchasing services. CarBargains and LeaseWise solicited competing bids from local dealers for customers seeking to buy or lease a selected vehicle, while the organization’s CarDeals publication compared automobile prices and financing options. Those services were discontinued on September 15, 2023. The organization remains associated primarily with consumer ratings, health-care information, comparative research, and subscription-based decision tools rather than with a conventional product brand or advertising-supported media company.

Consumers' Checkbook was founded in 1974 by Robert Krughoff as a nonprofit response to the difficulty consumers faced when trying to identify trustworthy service providers. Krughoff’s motivation followed a poor automobile-repair experience. The organization’s formal name is the Center for the Study of Services, while Consumers' Checkbook is the name used for its consumer publications and public-facing activities. The first issue of Consumers' Checkbook covered the Washington, D.C., area and evaluated providers such as mechanics and plumbers. Its research model combined direct consumer reports with undercover shopping, expert evaluations, complaint records, and public databases. The organization’s advertising-free approach was designed to preserve editorial independence; revenue from consumer publications came primarily from subscriptions. In 1982, Consumers' Checkbook expanded beyond Washington with a publication covering the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2003, it broadened its local-market coverage to Seattle-Tacoma, the Twin Cities, Chicago, the Philadelphia metropolitan area, and Boston. The local guides developed into a continuing service for comparing businesses and professionals across several metropolitan markets, while the organization also conducted stand-alone studies of categories such as grocery prices and other retail or service costs. Health-care research became a major area of institutional activity. Consumers' Checkbook began publishing its Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees in 1979 and moved the guide’s contents online in 2000 through GuideToHealthPlans.org. It later published broader health-plan comparisons, hospital evaluations, and physician recommendations. The Consumers' Guide to Hospitals, first published in 1988, covered roughly 4,500 U.S. acute-care hospitals, and the Consumers' Guide to Top Doctors began in 1999. The organization also established SurgeonRatings.org and Patient Central, the latter providing physician-ranking information for selected metropolitan areas. From 2007 to 2009, the organization participated in a demonstration project surveying patients about their experiences with doctors using the Clinician/Group CAHPS survey instrument developed by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Consumers' Checkbook also created a price-comparison resource for Minnesota’s MNsure marketplace. Its health-plan survey work expanded into contracts with commercial health plans, Medicare Advantage plans, and Medicare prescription-drug plans. Results from this work have been used by public and media organizations, including Medicare, the Office of Personnel Management, and U.S. News & World Report. The organization’s interest in public data and health-care transparency led to a major legal dispute. In 2006, Consumers' Checkbook sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain Medicare physician-claims records. The organization wanted to use claims volume to inform consumers about doctors’ experience with difficult or high-risk procedures. HHS argued that releasing the information could enable identification of individual physicians. Consumers' Checkbook prevailed in federal district court, but an appellate court reversed the decision, and the Supreme Court declined to hear the case. The data was eventually released in 2014 and subsequently used by Consumers' Checkbook and ProPublica. Consumers' Checkbook also developed automobile-purchasing services. Since 1990, CarBargains and LeaseWise solicited competing offers from local dealers for customers buying or leasing vehicles. The organization also published CarDeals, a twice-yearly comparison of vehicle prices and financing options. These automobile services were discontinued on September 15, 2023. Today, Consumers' Checkbook combines subscription-supported consumer publications with contract research, particularly health-plan surveys. The organization’s enduring identity is that of a nonprofit, independent information provider seeking to make prices, quality, and consumer experience more comparable across fragmented markets.

• 2023

  CarBargains and LeaseWise are discontinued

  [1]Consumers' Checkbooken.wikipedia.org

  The organization ends both automobile purchasing and leasing services on September 15.

• 2014

  Medicare claims data becomes available

  [1]Consumers' Checkbooken.wikipedia.org

  The Medicare claims data at issue in the litigation is ultimately released and later analyzed by Consumers' Checkbook and ProPublica.

• 2009

  Patient Central is founded

  [1]Consumers' Checkbooken.wikipedia.org

  The organization launches Patient Central, a physician-ranking initiative covering selected metropolitan areas.

• 2006

  Medicare-data lawsuit begins

  [1]Consumers' Checkbooken.wikipedia.org

  Consumers' Checkbook files a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking Medicare physician-claims data.

• 2003

  Local-market expansion

  [1]Consumers' Checkbooken.wikipedia.org

  Publications expand to Seattle-Tacoma, the Twin Cities, Chicago, the Philadelphia area, and Boston.

• 2000

  Health-plan guide moves online

  [1]Consumers' Checkbooken.wikipedia.org

  The Federal Employees health-plan guide becomes available online through GuideToHealthPlans.org.

• 1999

  Top Doctors guide begins

  [1]Consumers' Checkbooken.wikipedia.org

  Consumers' Checkbook first publishes its Guide to Top Doctors.

• 1990

  Automobile purchasing services begin

  [1]Consumers' Checkbooken.wikipedia.org

  CarBargains and LeaseWise begin helping consumers obtain competing local dealer bids for vehicle purchases and leases.

• 1988

  Hospital guide begins

  [1]Consumers' Checkbooken.wikipedia.org

  The organization first publishes its Consumers' Guide to Hospitals.

• 1982

  First publication outside Washington

  [1]Consumers' Checkbooken.wikipedia.org

  Consumers' Checkbook launches a publication focused on the San Francisco Bay Area.

• 1979

  Federal employee health-plan guide begins

  [1]Consumers' Checkbooken.wikipedia.org

  The organization begins publishing its Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees.

• 1974

  Consumers' Checkbook is founded

  [1]Consumers' Checkbooken.wikipedia.org

  Robert Krughoff establishes the Center for the Study of Services and publishes the first Consumers' Checkbook issue for the Washington, D.C., area.

Independent, nonprofit, advertising-free consumer research and comparison publisher focused on evidence-based purchasing information, service quality, price transparency, and health-care choice.

• Consumer ratings and comparison publications · 1974

  Consumers' Checkbook local guides

  Regional print and online publications compare local businesses and professionals using consumer surveys, undercover research, expert input, complaint information, and public records. Coverage has included automobile repair, home services, health care, and other commonly purchased services in several U.S. metropolitan areas.

• Health-plan comparison · 1979

  Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees

  A long-running comparison resource for federal employees that evaluates health-plan costs and quality. First published in 1979, the guide later became available online and has been used as a decision-support resource during federal benefits enrollment.

• Hospital ratings · 1988

  Consumers' Guide to Hospitals

  A hospital-evaluation resource covering approximately 4,500 U.S. acute-care hospitals. It is designed to help consumers compare institutional quality and performance rather than relying solely on reputation or promotional claims.

• Physician ratings · 1999

  Consumers' Guide to Top Doctors

  A guide identifying recommended specialists across major U.S. metropolitan areas. It forms part of Consumers' Checkbook’s broader effort to give consumers comparative information about medical professionals.

• Medical-provider information

  SurgeonRatings.org

  A specialized online resource focused on information and ratings related to surgeons and surgical experience.

• Physician comparison · 2009

  Patient Central

  A physician-ranking service founded in 2009 and covering Denver-Boulder, Memphis, Kansas City, and Manhattan. It extends the organization’s local comparison model into medical-provider selection.

• Automobile purchasing and leasing services · 1990

  CarBargains and LeaseWise

  Services that obtained competing bids from local dealers for consumers buying or leasing a selected vehicle. They operated alongside CarDeals, a publication comparing vehicle prices and financing options, until the services were discontinued in 2023.

• 2023

  Discontinuation of CarBargains and LeaseWiseStrategy

  Background

  Consumers' Checkbook had operated automobile purchasing and leasing services since 1990, using dealer competition to seek lower prices for customers.

  Action taken

  The organization discontinued CarBargains and LeaseWise on September 15, 2023.

  Aftermath

  The decision removed the organization’s dedicated car-buying and car-leasing services from its active offering set.

  Source

• 2006

  Litigation to obtain Medicare physician-claims dataOther

  Background

  Consumers' Checkbook sought Medicare claims records to help consumers evaluate physicians' experience with high-risk procedures. The Department of Health and Human Services opposed release on privacy and identifiability grounds.

  Action taken

  The organization filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit and won in federal district court.

  Aftermath

  An appellate court reversed the district-court ruling, and the Supreme Court declined review. The data was eventually released in 2014 and published by Consumers' Checkbook and ProPublica.

  Source

1. 1Consumers' Checkbooken.wikipedia.org
2. 2Consumers' Checkbook official websitecheckbook.org