Price Transparency: Who does it well? (Part 3 of 5)

Given the CBO’s definition of price transparency, you be the judge of who does it well:

• Feds: HHS’s Hospital Compare provides the national average Medicare payment for specific procedures (e.g., heart attacks) and compares it to a hospital’s average payment in terms like “No Different than the National Average Payment.”
• States: Governmental departments or non-profit organizations make hospital-specific charge data available to the public. For example, the Illinois Department of Public Health produces the Hospital Report Card and Consumer Guide to Health Care.
• Carriers: Members may get provider-specific payment information on their health plan websites. Health plan tools, such as Humana’s Transparency Tool and UnitedHealthcare’s Cost Estimator, also consider a member’s plan design.
• Employers: Employers might work with a third party to provide pricing information to their employees. These parties—such as Change (Transparency Messenger) and Compass (SmartShopper)—use an employer’s claims data to develop the information.
• Websites: Some organizations use public databases or private algorithms to provide information free on their websites. Additional information might also be available for a fee. Organizations include the Healthcare Bluebook and OpsCost.

So where does your local hospital provide price information? Check back for Part 4 of this series to learn more.