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Health insurers are now required to post prices they pay to hospitals

You know, this is a big deal because these prices have long been a big secret, right? People don't know how much they're going to pay for health care before they go and actually access that care. Even employers who are, after all, paying the bills, a lot of times - they don't know what their insurers have negotiated at various places. So the fact that this is going to be posted and that everybody can see it is a really big deal. And it's not just hospital prices. This is going to be prices for just about everything that an insurer contracts for - so the hospital, the clinics, the imaging centers, even the doctors. So this will be one more step towards shining a light on what has been a very…

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 Hospitals have to post their prices. Now, health insurers and employers have to publish what they pay

The federal government’s latest push for more health care price transparency starts July 1, and it is focused on those who are writing the checks: Health insurance companies and employers that directly pay for their workers’ medical care will have to start posting data on what they pay hospitals, doctors, and other providers.

 Transparency in Coverage

Health plan price transparency helps consumers know the cost of a covered item or service before receiving care. Beginning July 1, 2022, most group health plans and issuers of group or individual health insurance will begin posting pricing information for covered items and services. This pricing information can be used by third parties, such as researchers and app developers to help consumers better understand the costs associated with their health care. More requirements will go into effect starting on January 1, 2023, and January 1, 2024 which will provide additional access to pricing information and enhance consumers' ability to shop for the health care that best meet their needs.

Articles of Interest

Health-Insurance Providers Begin Publishing Prices for Medical Care

Insurers and employers began publicly posting the prices they pay for healthcare services ranging from doctor visits to lab tests, hugely expanding a federally mandated effort to unveil the long-secret rates. The new data is coming in the form of massive, machine-readable digital files, typically in formats not easily accessible to consumers, posted mostly on insurers’ websites.

How much health insurers pay for almost everything is about to go public

Consumers, employers and just about everyone else interested in health care prices will soon get an unprecedented look at what insurers pay for care, perhaps helping answer a question that has long dogged those who buy insurance: Are we getting the best deal we can?