National Review of Mandates for Disclosure of Hospital Charges
Do you know what your doctor charges? What will your surgery cost? How does that hospital�s fee compare to other facilities with comparable outcomes? Consumer driven health care means the health care purchaser seeks information, chooses the treatment facility, and pays for part or all of the cost, using publicly available information. This is referred to as health care transparency and last month�s article was on hospital price transparency. This article reviews the type of information that is available to health care purchasers and what some states are doing to promote public disclosure for the cost of health services. Look at the Nation According to the National Center for State Legislatures. March 18, 2013 Report Card on State Price Transparency Laws, the following states have passed laws mandating disclosure of hospital pricing information [1] : California- exempts small and rural hospitals and only requires a written copy of hospital charges on site for health care practiti...