Hospitals, Health Industry Question Trump Administration’s Legal Authority To Require Price Transparency
The Trump administration is considering requiring hospitals and insurers to reveal the true costs of medical services, which have always been tightly held, confidential secrets by the parties involved. The industry says the administration lacks the authority to mandate such disclosures, while also pointing out that they wouldn't do much to help consumers.
The Wall Street Journal:
Hospitals, Insurers Set To Resist Price Transparency Proposal
Hospitals and insurers are gearing up to battle a Trump administration plan that could require the public disclosure of negotiated prices for medical services, part of an effort to lower U.S. health-care costs. Patient advocates have largely cheered the idea, saying consumers should be able to price shop before they pick a doctor or undergo treatment. But industry groups are attacking the administration’s legal authority to mandate price disclosure, which could upend hospitals’ negotiations with insurers, and are criticizing any requirement as too complex to implement. (Armour and Wilde Mathews, 3/11)
NPR:
Trump Makes Bid For 'More Transparency' In Hospital Charges To Insurers
The Trump Administration is weighing whether to require hospitals to publicly reveal the prices they charge insurance companies for medical procedures and services — prices that are currently negotiated in private and kept confidential. The Department of Health and Human services says its aim is to boost competition and cut costs by letting consumers see how prices vary from place to place. But health economists say such "transparency" might not actually bring down costs for patients. (Kodjak, 3/11)
In other hospital news —
Modern Healthcare:
Hospitals Don't Want To Help Fund DSH Cut Delays
Hospitals face a potentially Catch-22 fight over a key lobbying priority — $4 billion in Medicaid disproportionate-share hospital cuts slated to start Oct. 1. Lawmakers appear poised to follow through with another delay. But the Senate Finance Committee is also eying simultaneous cuts to other hospital funding streams because, for the first time since DSH cut delays started, Congress now has to find a way to pay for them. This is due to a change to the way Congressional Budget Office scores the delays. (Luthi, 3/11)
Stat:
Hospitals Shift Data To The Cloud, As Tech Giants Offer Security And AI
After years of baby steps, hospitals nationwide are moving increasing amounts of health data into the cloud to guard against malware attacks and seize opportunities to use artificial intelligence to analyze data on patients, operations, and finances. Health care’s shift to centralized data storage on the internet — and away from on-premises server warehouses — seems as dull as the laying of new water pipes in hospital basements. But these pipes are carrying vast amounts of sensitive data as well as the ambitions of dominant vendors such as Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure — all of which are swiftly ramping up their offerings to win hospital contracts. (Ross, 3/12)
Chicago Tribune:
Illinois Hospitals Say They're Not Getting Paid, Question State's Outsourcing Of Medicaid
Last year, Illinois’ governor at the time, Bruce Rauner, revamped and expanded a program for paying for care for millions of Illinois residents, many of them poor. Called Medicaid managed care, the system — in which health insurance companies and organizations administer Medicaid benefits for the state — held the promise of improving care for patients and saving the state money. One year later, the reality is far different, hospital officials say. Payments from the companies are routinely late, and sometimes don’t come at all, hospital officials say. Sinai Health System, for example, which serves many low-income patients, has had to hire a consultant to help it get paid. (Schencker, 3/11)
