Of course, that "comprehensive information" for consumers amounts to little more than "a 'reference price' for health services in their communities, based on aggregated data from insurers," according to the Bloomberg story.

"Consumers, employers and regulatory agencies will now have a single source of consistent, transparent health care information based on the most reliable data available, including actual costs, which only insurers currently have," HCCI Executive Director David Newman said in a press release announcing the collaboration. "Voluntarily making this information available will be of immeasurable value to consumers and other health system participants as they seek to manage the cost and quality of care."

But at least it's a start — if a rather hesitant, belated one — and follows the administration's own efforts to open the curtain on Medicare pricing by releasing numbers last year on what it paid providers.

(Hey, at least they're transparent about something.)

These efforts are all very well and good, but they're trickling out at a glacial pace compared to every other aspect of consumer-driven health care. And some would argue — including me — that it's the most critical component.

Yes, consumers need to take more responsibility for their own health. Yes, third-party payers should be making fewer health care decisions. And, yes, providers and consumers should communicate better. But you can't ask them to do all the work without at least giving them the job description.

And we can't just vomit numbers — our own regulatory jabberwocky — at them either. Without proper context, informed opinion and educated options, consumers will be left in much the same state as dear Alice, with a head full of ideas, but devoid of understanding.