HCFO-Funded Work on Price Data Featured in Health Affairs Blog

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As consumers take on a more active role in managing their health care, it is important that price and quality information is accessible and accurate. In a recent piece for the Health Affairs Blog, Suzanne Delbanco and Lea Tessitore of Catalyst for Payment Reform discuss the evolution of price transparency tools and what still needs to be done. They highlight that despite the progress transparency tools have made and the apparent increase in consumer price seeking behavior, user engagement has been low. The authors reference HCFO-funded work from Carolin Hagelskamp and David Schleifer of Public Agenda that found a majority of consumers try to determine their out-of-pocket expenses prior to receiving care. They also found that 21 percent of consumers try to compare prices across providers, and over two-thirds believe a website showing price data would help them to better manage their health care spending. In their HCFO-funded study, Hagelskamp and Schleifer examined consumers' opinions, preferences, current habits, barriers, and needs with regard to price data and price data tools.