2020 will surely go down as a difficult year, but there are a few things we can celebrate. Efforts to create transparency between hospitals and insurance companies emerged, even as the American Hospital Association fought to keep people in the dark about pricing.
As of January 1, hospitals must publicly disclose pricing in a comprehensive machine-readable file or via a consumer-friendly cost estimator tool for at least 300 shoppable services.
While the rule should have a positive impact on costs, early indications show it will require due diligence from consumers, as most hospitals are not yet making prices readily available.
According to a recent study from Johns Hopkins, as of February 1, only about 20% of hospitals nationwide have posted prices to comply with this new rule.
Of the 20% of hospitals complying, reports suggest locating the shoppable tool can be like finding a needle in a haystack. There is no clarity on where these prices must be published.
Ultimately, individuals are left spending valuable hours searching and digging through multiple hospital websites to compare prices.
At EVHC, we believe in transparency, which is why we provide our members tools that promote fair pricing and facility quality ratings.
We have already done the work of comparing pricing for you and your clients.
