Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have outlined five recommendations to improve the usability of payer price transparency data. They found duplicated pricing information in almost half of the analyzed files from major insurers. The researchers suggest avoiding duplicate data, using a single provider identifier, summarizing median prices for common services, using meaningful pricing information, and publishing more complete drug pricing data. Implementing these recommendations can enhance transparency and support informed decision-making for healthcare consumers.
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggest that payers can enhance the usability of price transparency data. In their article published on May 25, they examined price transparency data files from seven major insurers and identified duplicated pricing information in nearly half of the files.
Another study in Health Affairs revealed variations in size and billing codes among major payers’ price transparency files. Notably, Cigna and Humana had larger file sizes compared to Aetna and UnitedHealthcare.
Based on their findings, the researchers offer five recommendations for payers to improve the usability of their pricing data:
1. Avert releasing pricing information twice.
2. Make use of a single provider identification, preferably the National Provider Identification (NPI).
3. Add up the median, minimum, and maximum prices for frequently shopped-for services.
4. Make use of accurate pricing data rather than relying just on list price percentages or other figures.
5. Make more thorough drug pricing information available.
Implementing these recommendations can enhance the transparency and effectiveness of payer price information, facilitating informed decision-making for healthcare consumers.
