Price transparency data is available, but several changes are needed to actually bring about lower healthcare costs, researchers at Washington, D.C.-based Georgetown University's Center for Health Insurance Reforms wrote.
In a July 6 blog post, Sabrina Corlette, research professor and co-director of the center, and Maanasa Kona, assistant research professor, laid out several options for improving price transparency.
Payers have been required to post negotiated rates for services since July 1, 2022. Patients are unlikely to use these services for two reasons, Ms. Corlette and Ms. Kona wrote. First, patients have few choices about where they receive emergency care, and when they can schedule services, most patients rely on referrals from their current providers.
A few options that could bolster the effectiveness of transparency, according to Ms. Corlette and Ms. Kona:
- Passing legislation to standardize hospital and payer data, including limiting file sizes
- Creating a national all-payer claims database
- Giving employers full access to their own claims data
- Passing legislation to improve PBM price transparency and disclosures
- Requiring more transparency in healthcare mergers and acquisitions
Read the full post here.