Most states, including Connecticut, could do more to give consumers the price information they need for making educated healthcare choices, according to an annual report card released this week by two independent health policy organizations.
The 2016 Report Card on State Price Transparency Laws developed by the Newtown-based Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute (HCI3) and California-based Catalyst for Payment Reform (CPR), gave 43 states an “F” for failing to meet even minimum standards, according to a news release from the organizations.
Only three states – New Hampshire, Colorado, and Maine – received an “A” for providing detailed pricing on a variety of procedures through easy-to-use public websites, backed by rich data sources.
While Connecticut was among states getting an “F,” the report card suggested the state should take the data from its established all-payer claims database (APCD) and post it on a publicly accessible website.
“Real health care price transparency for consumers is dependent on rich data sources that provide meaningful price information on a wide range of procedures and services,” François de Brantes, HCI3 executive director and lead author of the report, said in the release. “But that’s not enough. It must be presented on an accessible, publicly available website.”