Transparency in a Clouded World: Healthcare Providers Must Publish Prices for Services
Yesterday, we began a bipartisan discussion to revamp nearly 1/5 of the US economy. We heard arguments for and against certain parts of the proposed bill. There was a lot of posturing during the discussions and strong arguments made by both sides. However, there are certain nonnegotiable that I believe need to be agreed to.
For any change to truly impact the rising costs of healthcare, we must have transparency. What does transparency mean as it relates to healthcare? Simple. All providers must publish their pricing for services. A simple idea but a key element to in taking the first step to saving money. We must get transparency into the discussion and from that, allow consumers to take a more active role in their healthcare purchasing.
Healthcare is one of the few remaining areas of purchasing where a consumer enters the system with little to no knowledge of what the charges will be. To truly get costs under control, the consumer will have to play a more active role in what the charges will be.