Free Republic

Washington's latest solution to the high cost of health care is to mandate price transparency, at present for institutions like hospitals and outpatient facilities, but eventually for everyone — even solo practitioners (if any still exist). Advocates claim that since price transparency works to drive down prices for other commercial activities such as buying a car, it will bring down the unaffordable expense of health (medical) care. Price transparency won't work, for six compelling reasons. First, there is healthcare (one word) versus health...care (two words). The former is a massive, Byzantine system consuming 18.3 percent of U.S. GDP. Health (medical)...

When President Trump signed an executive order for healthcare price transparency last year, hospital lobbyists fumed. “Disclosing negotiated rates between insurers and hospitals could undermine the choices available in the private market,” American Hospital Association Executive Vice President Tom Nickels groused in anticipation of the order. “While we support transparency, this approach misses the mark.” Insurance-industry mouthpieces also demurred. David Balat, himself a former hospital executive, has strongly advocated requiring healthcare providers to disclose the prices they negotiate with insurance companies. The reasons for this are straightforward: American patients shouldn’t be kept waiting until after undergoing a medical procedure to...

Several years ago, I had a shoulder injury, and the doctor told me I might need surgery to fix the small tear in my rotator cuff. So, I asked, "Doctor, if I have this surgery, about how much will it cost?" He looked at me confusedly and said, "Steve, I've been doing these surgeries for 20 years, and you are the first patient to ever ask me what it costs!" Then he thought about it and laughed: "I don't know how much this will cost you." Wow. Health care is one of the most expensive items we buy each year,...

Hospitals will be required to post online a list of their standard charges under a rule finalized Thursday by the Trump administration. While hospitals are already required to make this information public on request, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said the new rule would require the info be posted online to "encourage price transparency" and improve "public accessibility." Starting Jan. 1, hospitals will be required to update the information annually. The CMS said it is also considering how to "allow consumers to more easily access relevant healthcare data and compare providers." Increasing price transparency has been a...