Tag: Decipherment

On Jan. 1, hospitals began complying with a Trump administration order to post list prices for all their services, theoretically offering consumers transparency and choice and forcing health care providers into price competition. It is nearly impossible for consumers to compare prices for the same service at different hospitals because no two hospitals seem to describe services in the same way. “We’ve updated our guidelines to specifically require hospitals to post price information on the internet in a machine-readable format,” Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said last week. The Trump administration adopted the new requirement as part of its agenda to promote “transparency” in health care, in the belief that health markets would work better if consumers had more information. In another example, federal officials want to require pharmaceutical companies to disclose the list price of prescription drugs in television advertisements. “There is no more powerful force than an informed consumer.” The Trump administration told hospitals that they had to post their standard charges for all services and items, including drugs, by Jan. 1, but did not define “standard charges.” In later guidance, it said the format was “the hospital’s choice.” “Without a standard definition, patients cannot make accurate comparisons between hospitals,” said Herb B. Kuhn, the president of the Missouri Hospital Association. Federal officials have asked the public to suggest “enforcement mechanisms.” Each hospital has a list — known as a “chargemaster” — of prices for thousands of goods and services, including medical procedures, laboratory tests, supplies and medications. But the price information is often difficult and sometimes impossible to find on hospital websites. People with high-deductible plans may have to pay some or all of the list price until they meet the deductible, and people with insurance who go outside their health plan’s network may also have to pay a substantial share of the list price. “Having a high list price means they have more leverage in negotiating prices for people covered by private insurance.” Even while complying with the new requirement, many hospitals have posted disclaimers warning consumers not to rely on the data.