Introducing the Price Transparency Action Brief – updated in Spring 2022

Learn what price transparency is and how it has evolved.  Recent federal regulations provide purchasers and their plan members with transparency into the prices hospitals charge.  Furthermore, the regulation requires health plans (including self-insured purchasers) to provide transparency into gross charges, de-identified pay-specific in-and out-of-network negotiated charges, minimum and maximum negotiated charges, and discounted cash prices for various sets of items and services (including ancillary services and prescription drug prices). Greater price transparency can help purchasers direct their plan members to high-value providers and become more informed and engaged in their care. This Price Transparency Action Brief offers concrete action steps purchasers can take to continue to drive transparency in the health care marketplace.

The Action Brief includes information on the following areas:

• What is price transparency?
• Why should purchasers support efforts to improve price transparency?
• What are some existing efforts at price transparency?
• What challenges remain in price transparency?
• Actions purchasers can take to drive transparency