In response to continued high prices in the US healthcare system, a bipartisan effort has led to increased price transparency. For many stakeholders, the goal of this transparency is to make it easier for the average person to find healthcare prices.
Today, the Utah Foundation released a report looking at healthcare price transparency. The report highlights the following:
- Datasets generated by federal price transparency rules have granted researchers, employers, journalists, and other observers unprecedented oversight of the healthcare industry.
- While some stakeholders look to price transparency as a method of lowering healthcare prices, recent research does not seem to support this method.
- Given that current price transparency tools rarely reach patients, providing Advanced Explanation of Benefits can potentially improve patient experiences.
- Utah’s All-Payers Claim Database serves as a rich source of healthcare data, while the Healthcare Value Hub suggests opportunities to leverage those data to improve Utahns’ healthcare experiences.
“Though the hoped-for consumer-driven price reductions have not occurred, some states have seen success in controlling healthcare prices,” said Josh Wright, the report’s author. “Benefits seem to be from using pricing information to inform policies that target cost drivers in healthcare.”
“Utahns are dissatisfied with high – and hidden – healthcare prices,” said Utah Foundation President Shawn Teigen. “Price transparency efforts may not be working as planned in alleviating the pain Utahns feel when they open their medical bills, but efforts are underway to improve how pricing information reaches patients.”
The report is available here and below.
