• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Pricing transparency: Hospitals face federal pressure to make prices more transparent

Healthcare Strategist Trend Watch, March 17, 2006

Hospitals should make pricing and quality information available to consumers in user-friendly formats, Al Hubbard, assistant to the president for economic policy, said at this month's annual meeting of the Federation of American Hospitals in Washington, DC.

Although compliance is currently voluntary, Hubbard said he believes bipartisan support exists to pass a legislative requirement, and in fact, four bills already have been introduced to require more transparency in patient charges and quality ratings.

Another Bush administration official, health policy advisor Roy Ramthun, said the Department of Health and Human Services is considering ways to persuade hospitals to make their pricing available to consumers and the public.

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive