A New Era of Transparency: What Does Health Care Really Cost?Paper commissioned by the NGA examines health care price transparency and state roles in helping to advance efforts nationwide |
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U.S. health care is a $2 trillion industry that consumes 17 percent of the gross domestic product. It is an expensive system that touches everyone and costs almost $7,000 per person annually. Yet for most consumers, the actual costs of the health care services they use are unknown.
Employers and health plans believe that price transparency is an important step in the journey to health care reform and have taken the lead in advancing transparency efforts. They reason that if consumers have access to what services cost, they will be more discriminating in their health care purchases, which, in turn, can help to lower overall health care costs.
Recognizing the importance of price (and quality) transparency discussions in public policy circles, The National Governors Association (NGA) commissioned the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions (the Center), part of Deloitte LLP, to produce a point of view on the status of current efforts to improve price transparency in the U.S. health care system. “Health Care Price Transparency: A Strategic Perspective for State Government Leaders,” examines efforts and attitudes of major health care stakeholder groups (employers, health plans, policymakers, providers and organizations that provide goods/services to providers/plans/consumers) toward price transparency and offers perspectives on how states can use their considerable leverage to direct these efforts more effectively.
In conjunction with the release of this paper, the Center also has produced the podcast “Seeing Through the Fog: What Health Care Really Costs.” The podcast features Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell; Christina Dorfhuber, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP; and John Keith, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, discussing how price transparency can help consumers play a more active, informed role in purchasing health care services and lower health care costs for all Americans.
To access “Health Care Price Transparency: A Strategic Perspective for State Government Leaders,” download the PDF below.
Health Care Price Transparency
(553.19 KB)
