Hospital Price Transparency Initiative
Overview
Hospital costs are one of the fastest-growing expenditures in the US economy with employers and employees paying the highest prices in the world. Costs have been further exacerbated by market consolidation where health systems increasingly operate with little or no competition or market constraints. This has allowed indefensible hospital pricing and minimal constraint on growth, further "investment" in market consolidation, and bloated overhead costs.
Our Next Steps
We are entering a new era of transparency and the curtain of secrecy is lifting. While the battle to curb healthcare costs has been going on for decades, it wasn't until recently that employers and other purchasers had access to the data to truly understand just how non-responsive the system has been. Sage Transparency is helping synthesize multiple sources of data to bring greater focus to the current state of hospital prices in the commercial market.
Playbook – Beyond Hospital Transparency Getting to Fair Price
The National Alliance released a playbook for employers/purchasers and regional business coalitions, "Beyond Hospital Transparency: Getting to Fair Price." Featuring Sage Transparency, this playbook will help purchasers navigate the data; understand rights and responsibilities as a plan sponsor fiduciary; determine what a fair price is for hospital services in specific marketplaces; and offer guidance about options to achieve fair pricing.