HB 1241, introduced by Reps. Braun, Brown, and Heaton, would require hospitals and physicians to publish their gross billed charges (the chargemaster for hospitals) on the Internet along with a comparison of those charges to their Medicare rates for those services.
My initial reaction is positive. Medical pricing is opaque, to put it charitably. And, while there are other reasons why medical services aren’t notably responsive to market forces; lack of transparency in pricing is also a factor. On the other hand, a couple of my buddies are doctors, and I can’t help but think what a colossal pain in the ass this would be for them.
Do drs and hospitals really have “Medicare rates” or do they just accept the reimbursement that Medicare sees fit? Having seen some EOBs from Medicare, the amounts actually paid are far below the amounts filed, sometimes to the point of being almost non-existent. Can’t imagine that the drs and hospitals are setting the rates that low.
The comparison with Medicare rates is probably a ploy for consumers to lobby for providers lowering billed charges amounts. Medicaid rates might be a better yardstick in that is what the state that is demanding transparency pays providers.