Price Transparency Can Protect Patients Like John Druschitz

The New York Times recently reported on a Texas patient named John Druschitz who was hit with a $22,368 hospital bill for routine care. The days of five-figure medical bills blindsiding patients like John several months after care can end with healthcare price transparency. When healthcare consumers know up-front, straight-up prices, they can enjoy financial certainty and control their health and wealth decisions for the roughly 90 percent of healthcare spending that's not for emergencies.

By empowering patients to shop for the best quality care at the lowest possible price, a functional, competitive marketplace will emerge that will put downward pressure on inflated healthcare prices. According to a poll conducted by 20|20 Research, 64 percent of Americans delay care each year for fear of unknown financial ruin. Rather than ask taxpayers to cover these enormous costs, price transparency can eliminate the roughly 25 percent of healthcare spending that JAMA attributes to waste, including administrative billing waste.

Since January 1st, hospitals have been required to post their real prices, including their discounted cash and secret negotiated rates. Starting next year, insurers must publish their cost-sharing information, generating system-wide price transparency. Xavier Becerra, the nation's new Health and Human Services Secretary, has promised "robust enforcement" of these transparency rules.

When healthcare consumers like John can easily access such prices, they will no longer need to fear ruinous healthcare bills showing up months later in the mail, and they will have easy recourse if their bills do not match. Healthcare price transparency will give power to patients and substantially reduce the costs of care and coverage.