Abstract
Chapter 3 presents six enabling conditions necessary to enhance consumer choice. These conditions are consumer-centric-oriented stakeholders, meaningful differentiation among available options, relevant metrics for success, information transparency among stakeholders, consumer protections, and balanced incentives between patients and providers. These six conditions are the soil in which consumer choice can grow. If one or more is absent, choice and market-forces are retarded. After reviewing each of these conditions in depth, this chapter argues that if these conditions are met, consumers will be more educated, see better products and services come to market, and be protected from bad actors and potentially poor decisions.