Posted by Michael Wonder on 26 Jun 2019
Why transparency on medical prices could actually make them go higher
24 June 2019 - It could depend on how much the health care system resembles the Danish concrete market.
It makes intuitive sense — publish prices negotiated within the health care industry, and consumers will benefit. That’s the argument behind the executive order issued Monday by President Donald Trump that is intended to give patients more information about what health care will cost before they get it.
But the peculiarities of the United States health care system, with its longstanding secrecy around negotiated health care prices, mean there is very little research on the possible effects of the particular thing the Trump administration wants to do.
