Healthcare Price Transparency

Healthcare price transparency is the essential practice of providing clear and accessible information about the costs of medical services and procedures. This empowers Missourians to make informed decisions and encourages competition among healthcare providers to help mitigate high healthcare expenses. Below you’ll find an infographic highlighting key facts, possible reforms to current law, and a full policy brief.

Key Facts

Healthcare Price Transparency-One Pager

Possible Reforms to Current Law

Codify Enhanced Federal Price Transparency Requirements into State Law
Require hospitals to disclose their prices both in a machine-readable format and in a consumer-friendly list.
One way to achieve these reforms is to adopt statutory language similar to that contained in the model policy titled the “Hospital Price Transparency Act” hosted on the website of the American Legislative Exchange Council.
The relevant text for this set of reforms begins with “Section 3: Healthcare Facilities Required to Disclose Certain Prices to Patients” and ends just before “Sec. [insert chapter number here].006. MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT.”

Strengthen Enforcement and Noncompliance Penalties
Require the state health agency to actively monitor facilities by compliance, levy sanctions on noncompliant facilities that do not take timely, sufficient corrective action after being informed about their status of noncompliance, and make public a continually updated list of noncompliant facilities on a prominent state government website.

One way to achieve these reforms is to adopt statutory language similar to that contained in the model policy titled the “Hospital Price Transparency Act” hosted on the website of the American Legislative Exchange Council.

The relevant text for this set of reforms begins with “Sec. [insert chapter number here].006. MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT.” and ends just before “CHAPTER [insert chapter number here]. PROHIBITING COLLECTIVE ACTION OF DEBT AGAINST PATIENTS FOR NON-COMPLIANT FACILITIES:”

Ban Noncompliant Hospitals from Pursuing Patients for Unpaid Bills
Prohibit facilities that are in a status of noncompliance with price transparency requirements from pursuing collections and other legal remedies against patients with derogatory bills.

One way to achieve these reforms is to adopt statutory language similar to that contained in the model policy titled the “Hospital Price Transparency Act” hosted on the website of the American Legislative Exchange Council.

The relevant text for this set of reforms begins with “CHAPTER [insert chapter number here]. PROHIBITING COLLECTIVE ACTION OF DEBT AGAINST PATIENTS FOR NON-COMPLIANT FACILITIES:” and goes to the end of the draft language.

Policy Brief

20240201 – Healthcare Price Transparency – Hedlund

Talk to an Expert

Aaron Hedlund
Chief Economist
[email protected]