A Dream Deferred? Price Transparency in the American Healthcare System

By JOANNE RODRIGUES-CRAIG Financial well-being, or the state of an individual’s personal monetary affairs, is one of the six core indicators of wellness in the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Poor financial well-being can lead to a whole host of short and long term mental and physical health issues, including depression, anxiety, troubled relationships and chronic stress.[1] [2] It is surprising how American hospitals and other health providers have neglected financial well-being when considering their patients’ health. In a recent study by the American Cancer Association, 56% of Americans suffer from hardships related to the cost of care.[3] Medical costs are the primary cause of 67% of all bankruptcies in the United States.[4] To think that health care costs are not having a deleterious effect on American’s general well-being is a complete fallacy. Even as a former health technology data scientist, I was largely in the dark about how health provider pricing works. Finding health provider pricing is like pulling teeth; it’s extremely time0consuming, frustrating (and sometimes painful) to get a health estimate for even the simplest procedures. Having poor or inadequate insurance can feel like a weight holding you down during your most vulnerable time, in the midst of a major health crisis. In 2018 on a fall evening, I took my daughter to an urgent care clinic thinking she might have the flu. We proceeded to wait late into the night for a simple fl...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Economics The Business of Health Care clinicpricecheck joanne rodrigues-craig price transparency Source Type: blogs