Here we go again!

News out of Madison; legislation is in the works calling for “hospitals to be more transparent about how much they're charging for procedures.” (Source: Shawn Johnson, WPR HERE)

Do we conclude the 2022 No Surprises Act hasn’t worked?

Did you know in New Hampshire they’ve mandated price transparency since 2003? Have you seen any articles about how low premiums are there? (Alexa, is there really a Tooth Fairy?)

In an Advisory Board presentation Wednesday, transparency was called “the red herring of consumerism.”

Why? To loosely quote:

• Consumer incentives to shop are limited to deductible and coinsurance; i.e., limited impact
• Decisions for the majority of specialty urgent and/or complex services are by default, as next steps presented by ‘captive’ primary care physicians
• Price data is messy and quality metrics elusive.

What if instead of putting the onus for health care spending on Joe Lunch-Bucket, we rewarded providers for “value based care.”

That’s a term the Advisory Board says will be a force that reshapes health care.

Stay tuned.