Massachusetts is launching a sweeping plan to hold down health care costs. A new law is partly designed to get patients to help drive down prices by shopping for medical care.

So when I had a series of migraines over the summer, I decided this was an opportunity to be an engaged, savvy patient.

First decision: whether to even get the doctor-recommended MRI. It’s a very expensive test, and I thought maybe the headaches would just disappear.

But I followed my doctor's advice, called Newton-Wellesley Hospital and asked for the price of the test. My doctor didn’t know, I got transferred to radiology, I got transferred to billing. Billing said they would call me back. They didn't. I couldn't even get a ballpark estimate.

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