The Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute released a report finding 45 states failed to provide adequate price information on out-of-pocket costs for health care services and products to consumers. The report shows that not much has changed in the way of new measures to improve price transparency since a similar report was issued last year. The criteria included whether states had acted to pass laws or regulations – or if current laws were being properly enforced – to provide meaningful pricing information to consumers. The growing use of large deductibles in many health plans has been a source for the demand in health care pricing information. When consumers have access to better pricing information, they will make more informed decisions regarding their health care needs. However, the question of which entities should list prices comes into question: hospitals, whose high prices aren’t the final cost to consumers, or third-party payers who negotiate different prices for different services. State governments should be leading the way by pushing policies that encourage greater transparency or creating tools like state websites that focus on pricing. To learn more regarding price transparency, read the full Futurity article here.
Last Updated on May 7, 2020 by Aimed Alliance
