Hospital Price Transparency benefits everyone

Four years ago, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a rule to help patients save money through increase hospital price transparency. But today, that rule is hardly helping to save them any. No thanks to hospitals that refuse to cooperate with the law.

The Hospital Price Transparency Rule requires U.S. hospitals to disclose their charges for treatments and procedures on their websites. This is so that patients can clearly see what they are going to be billed in advance of seeking care. Unfortunately, only 21 percent of hospitals comply with the rule. Consequently, patients are less able to budget for lifesaving and routine care they need.

Non-insurance covered services and products including plastic surgery and over-the-counter drugs, however, are available with full price transparency. It seems likely, therefore, that insurance companies are part of the problem too.

Price transparency is the first step

Ge Bai, a professor of accounting & health policy at Johns Hopkins says that “reforming insurance regulations to allow patients to benefit from lower prices is the right direction”. He also said that the “uneven playing field in the provider market must also be addressed to facilitate fair competition.”  He also points out that price transparency is the first step needed to transform the healthcare system. It should be run on competition and fair, market driven price points.

The data shows that he is right. Turquoise Health found that even though only some hospitals follow the Price Transparency Rule, the average commercial prices for common hospital services have dropped since the rule’s implementation. This result suggests that true price transparency can curb price increases.

Solidarity is pushing back

At Solidarity HealthShare, we have always believed that our Members should have access to high quality care that they can afford. To that goal, we want to ensure total price transparency. No one should ever be surprised by their medical bills or treatment costs. 94 percent of Americans agree that healthcare entities like hospitals, insurance providers, and doctors should be legally required to disclose their prices in an easily accessible place. 

Although Solidarity cannot command Hospitals to follow the law requiring them to disclose their rates, we continue to stand as an alternative to traditional insurance. We offer our Members more savings and better customer support than they might otherwise receive under traditional plans. With our Reference Based Repricing system we consistently save our Members over 65% on average off medical bills. That is only possible due to public pricing data, and would be much more common if these rules were enforced.

To determine if Solidarity is right for you and your family, we would encourage you to click on the banner below and learn more!