A new report card tracking health care price transparency finds that 45 states failed to offer essential information to consumers shopping in the U.S. health system, a significant step back since easier-to-understand public health solutions were to have become the norm in this post-Affordable Care Act world.
In 2014, not one state received an A grade and only Maine and Massachusetts claimed a B grade, according to the second annual Report Card on State Price Transparency Laws. The data compiled by nonprofit organizations Catalyst for Payment Reform and the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute
Massachusetts and New Hampshire heralded an A grade in 2013. But, it was a different story this year, as the Granite State was given an F this year because of the inoperability of its health care website, which was created to disseminate pricing and other information.
The report card assists policy makers, consumer advocates and other health care stakeholders to
Access to meaningful price information is more important than ever as consumers continue to take on a rising share of expenses, says Suzanne Delbanco, executive director of CPR. She highlights, however, that there is still work to be done to get a truer picture of the price of health care.
Even as President Barack Obama has noted that the administration will
This year, the report cards grading system delved further into the price transparency debate, and broadened its focus from solely states that have adopted laws on price transparency to states that have put the wheels in motion towards disseminating this information into websites, all-payer databases and additional regulations.
While noting that New York, Pennsylvania and Texas didnt take steps to earn a passing grade after flunking previously, Francois de Brantes, HCI3 executive director, highlights that the report card seeks to inform advocates, lawmakers, and policy experts about todays best practices or what constitutes a top grade and, over time, generate improvements in public policies and consumer websites across the nation.