Price Transparency: Empowering Patient Choice and Promoting Provider Competition

Abstract

In light of recent health policy efforts to promote price transparency, this perspective reviews the challenges and benefits of price transparency. These price transparency efforts include the recent executive order and associated rulemaking directing providers to disclose negotiated and out-of-pocket costs for "shoppable" healthcare services. First, we explore the previous efforts of states and health plans targeted at price transparency, reviewing lessons for future implementation. Second, we address the value of price transparency in light of various policy concerns and objections. Finally, we jointly hypothesize potential effects of and opportunities presented by price transparency for patients, physicians, and other healthcare industry stakeholders.

Keywords: Antitrust; Competition policy; Price transparency; Quality improvement; Systems improvement.