In a bid to lower the cost of care and empower patients, Ohio is on the verge of achieving price transparency in its health care system. The passage of key reforms in the Ohio House has brought this goal within reach, as transparency is now enforced through state law.
Price transparency is crucial across all sectors of the economy and government, but especially in health care. The reforms in HB 49 codify existing federal laws and allow for state enforcement, which are vital in bringing down health care costs. These reforms also protect patients from being sent into debt collection services by hospitals that do not comply with transparency laws.
While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandated hospitals to post prices for their services in 2010, very few hospitals are in compliance with this requirement. The Department of Health and Human Services has failed to enforce the law, leading states like Ohio to take matters into their own hands by codifying transparency requirements. In Ohio, less than 1 in 5 hospitals comply with federal transparency requirements, and there are significant cost differences for the same services among facilities just a short distance apart from each other.
Enforcing price transparency for health care services will help individuals understand the costs they face and bring more competition to the health care market. This is essential for promoting long-term solvency of Medicare and Medicaid. Efforts to bring transparency to health care have seen bipartisan support, which is rare in today’s political climate. Health care is the only area of the economy where consumers are expected to purchase goods or services without knowing the price beforehand. Making health care costs transparent is critical for empowering patients and reducing healthcare costs.
Ohio’s House reforms align with ALEC’s Essential Policy Solutions for 2024’s model Hospital Price Transparency Act. By implementing these reforms, Ohio takes a step towards ensuring that patients have access to transparent pricing information and promoting competition within the health industry.”
