Two Texas Congressmen have introduced a bill that would promote greater transparency regarding healthcare service costs. The Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2012 would require states to enact into law mandates that hospitals publicly disclose the costs of inpatient and outpatient services.
Proposed by Representatives Michael Burgess, MD (R-TX) and Gene Green (D-TX), the legislation would also require health insurers to provide health plan enrollees with estimated out-of-pocket costs for healthcare items and services. In addition, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality would be required to determine which types of healthcare cost information consumers consider beneficial, in order to provide this cost information in a simple and timely fashion.
Rep. Burgess said in a statement, “Arming patients with cost information is an important step in improving our country’s health care system with the focus on the patient.” The American Hospital Association (AHA) concurs, supporting the bill.
Medical billing systems like Allscripts MyWay, Medisoft, and Lytec can help medical providers manage costs and run their practices efficiently. For further information on implementing such a system, please contact a Microwize healthcare technology consultant.
