On 6/24/19, the President of the United States issues an executive order requiring Hospitals and Insurance companies to reveal what they are charging or paying for services.
The idea is to make health care cost transparent, which then would lead to consumerism and then medical providers reducing costs to attract more patients. Primarily pressuring the health care industry to become like any other industry. “The goal is to create a more competitive marketplace where providers are competing for patients on price and quality.” CMS
The Insurance industry immediately pushed back, stating this action would have unintended consequences by pushing prices higher rather than down. The insurance industry fears that publicly disclosing proprietary network rates (PPO, EPO, HMO) will only lead to medical providers demanding higher reimbursements based on the highest reimbursement rate.
The Department of Health and Human Services will propose regulations requiring hospitals to disclose what the standard charge for medical procedures in an easy to understand format.
Both, which includes Insurance companies and medical providers will fight this executive order with all their resources because real price transparency could have huge implications on their business models.
If the public can retrieve what each medical provider charges for a specific procedure, that could lead to that patient going to the lowest costing provider, especially with current deductibles and out of pocket maxes. Quality care should remain a factor, but a provider charging more for that procedure would have to justify why they are charging more. Maybe they have the best doctor in the state performing that procedure, or they have the newest technology, or it might come down to how the staff treats you before and after the procedure. Price transparency could lead to lower prices and additional services.
On the flip side If all the medical providers know what each other are charging, this could lead to higher prices by matching the highest price being charged.
If the public had access to network discounts that the insurance companies negotiate with the medical provider are, it could have a massive impact on carrier selection. Large employers with self-funded plans would have a clear picture on which insurance company offers the deepest discounts. A large employer typically will be responsible for the initial claims on each member called stop-loss insurance. If the employer pays the first $150K in claims on each member and they have a crystal-clear picture that Insurance company X has 10% deeper discount than other carriers that can add up to significant savings.
On the flip side, all the insurance companies could arrive at a similar benchmark on reimbursements and then negotiate additional discounts that could go back to the carrier or client in the form of rebates. Thus, losing transparency
