{"id":272,"date":"2019-09-24T18:11:35","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T18:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-health-care-pros-and-cons\/"},"modified":"2019-09-24T18:11:35","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T18:11:35","slug":"transparency-in-health-care-pros-and-cons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/24\/transparency-in-health-care-pros-and-cons\/","title":{"rendered":"Transparency in Health Care: Pros and Cons"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In July, the Trump administration proposed
\nan initiative requiring greater transparency in health care pricing. Specifically,
\nthe proposal would require hospitals to publish prices negotiated with insurers
\nfor individual services. However, studies have shown that consumers seldom use
\nthis type of information to shop for lower prices, presumably because their
\ninsurance pays for a large portion of the expense. For people who might be inclined
\nto shop, it\u2019s also unlikely they would \u2014 or could \u2014 do so in an emergency.<\/p>\n

Insurers fear that such a policy
\ncould potentially lead to higher hospitals costs as institutions begin
\nmonitoring what their competitors are charging.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

While the federal government
\ncontinues to explore options to mandate affordability in the health care
\nindustry, much of the financial burden still falls on consumers. It can be
\nespecially difficult for those who would like to retire before age 65 \u2014 the
\nage at which one qualifies for Medicare benefits. If you\u2019re looking for ideas
\non how you can bridge that gap, please give us a call. We may be able to help
\nyou develop a strategy.<\/p>\n

Speaking of Medicare, one of the Affordable
\nCare Act\u2019s cost-cutting test programs asked hospitals to bundle the Medicare
\ncost of treating a specific condition, such as a knee or hip replacement. Among
\nhospitals required to participate, about half saw savings by bundling the cost
\nof end-to-end services from surgical hospitalization to physical therapy and
\nrecovery. While a roughly 50% success rate yielding about 5% comparative
\nsavings may be considered a good result, the bundling concept may only work for
\ncertain conditions and procedures. The Trump administration has expanded the
\nconcept of bundled payments but has done so on a voluntary, rather than
\nmandatory, basis.2<\/sup><\/p>\n

Researchers from the Washington (State)
\nHealth Alliance studied that state\u2019s health care expenditures by looking at
\nspending on 47 specific tests and services. In 2018, the group reported that
\nmore than a third of the money spent on those 47 tests or services went to
\nunnecessary care.3 <\/sup>If that is the case in Washington state, or
\nacross the country, whose responsibility is it to consider how to control health
\ncare costs? <\/p>\n

While the idea of some form of
\nuniversal health care continues to be debated and will likely be a political
\nissue throughout the 2020 election year, the key components to consider are how
\nto achieve lower costs and higher quality outcomes. By addressing the problem
\nof unnecessary care and expenses, some argue that it\u2019s possible any cost
\nsavings generated by a more efficient health care industry could be funneled
\ninto other aspects of the economy, thus driving growth.4<\/sup><\/p>\n

Content prepared by Kara Stefan
\nCommunications.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1 <\/sup>Knowledge@Wharton. July 2, 2019. \u201cWill Price
\nTransparency in Health Care Lower Costs or Backfire?\u201d https:\/\/knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu\/article\/will-price-transparency-health-care-lower-costs-backfire\/<\/a>. Accessed Aug. 12, 2019. <\/p>\n

2 <\/sup>Knowledge@Wharton. May 21, 2018. \u201cCan Bundled Payments
\nHelp Control Health Care Costs?\u201d https:\/\/knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu\/article\/bundled-payments-a-model-for-controlling-health-care-costs\/<\/a>. Accessed Aug. 12, 2019.<\/p>\n

3 <\/sup>Marshall Allen. NPR. Feb. 1, 2018. \u201cUnnecessary
\nMedical Care: More Common Than You Might Imagine.\u201d https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/health-shots\/2018\/02\/01\/582216198\/unnecessary-medical-care-more-common-than-you-might-imagine<\/a>. Accessed Aug. 12, 2019. <\/p>\n

4 <\/sup>Insurance News Net. April 26, 2019. \u201cEconometer: Would
\nUniversal Health Care Help The U.S. Economy?\u201d https:\/\/insurancenewsnet.com\/oarticle\/econometer-would-universal-health-care-help-the-u-s-economy#<\/a>. Accessed Aug. 12, 2019.<\/p>\n

We are an independent firm helping individuals create retirement
\nstrategies using a variety of insurance products to custom suit their needs and
\nobjectives. This material is intended to provide general information to help
\nyou understand basic retirement income strategies and should not be construed
\nas financial advice. <\/em><\/p>\n

The information contained in this material is believed to be reliable,
\nbut accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed; it is not intended to be
\nused as the sole basis for financial decisions. If you are unable to access any
\nof the news articles and sources through the links provided in this text,
\nplease contact us to request a copy of the desired reference.<\/em><\/p>\n

930061B<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In July, the Trump administration proposed an initiative requiring greater transparency in health care pricing. Specifically, the proposal would require hospitals to publish prices negotiated with insurers for individual services. However, studies have shown that consumers seldom use this type of information to shop for lower prices, presumably because their insurance pays for a large…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ladintax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}