Policy & Regulation News

GA Task Force to Examine Healthcare Costs, Price Transparency

The Task Force on Healthcare Access and Cost will discuss ways to control healthcare costs and access, including price transparency and technology use.

Healthcare costs and price transparency

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By Jacqueline LaPointe

- Policymakers in Georgia are forming a task force to address healthcare cost and access issues in the state, including price transparency and free market solutions, according to an announcement from the Lieutenant Governor.

Dubbed the Task Force on Healthcare Access and Cost, the group will identify ways the state can tackle cost and access burdens, including price transparency, data and technology utilization, and employer innovation.

Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan will chair the task group, which is scheduled to convene three times before the start of the legislative session in January.

“Georgia has taken huge steps toward being a leader in the field of healthcare,” Duncan stated in the announcement. “I am proud of the work we accomplished to pass 22 healthcare bills during the legislative session, but there is still much to be done. Now is the time to build on that momentum and find high-quality, affordable and accessible healthcare solutions.”

Healthcare costs are rising across the country. CMS actuaries project healthcare spending to increase 5.5 percent annually until 2027, at which point health expenditures will be over 19 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

The federal government is actively seeking ways to control healthcare costs, particularly prices. Research shows that prices are to blame for the US’ outlier healthcare spending, so the Trump Administration is implementing a number of price transparency requirements to empower consumers to shop around for high-quality, low-cost care.

Healthcare costs and price transparency have been at the top of the federal government’s priority list as of late. But states have been tackling the issues for years now.

States are using their legal authority to implement a number of strategies to control healthcare costs and improve quality, according to a new report published in the Health Affairs blog.

Using data from a public database managed by non-profit Catalyst for Payment Reform and the Source on Healthcare Price and Competition at UC Hastings Law, the report showed that state laws are primarily addressing price transparency, health plan benefit design, value-based payment, provider networks, and market power.

Price transparency laws have been particularly popular among states, the report found. Sixteen states have implemented mandatory all-payer claims databases (APCDs), which collect and house healthcare price and quality information. Of these states, eight make price and quality information available to the public through state-run websites.

Industry leaders expect greater price transparency through ACPDs to not only help consumers understand pricing in their region, but also encourage greater competition among healthcare providers, leading to lower prices.

Other states have taken price transparency laws a step further. For example, Colorado requires certain providers to give patients their prices for common services. In New Jersey, healthcare facilities have to present patients with information on provider network status and disclaimers about patient financial responsibility.

Georgia seems to be heading down a similar path. The state is bringing together key stakeholders from across the industry, including leaders from local institutions such as Emory Health Care, University of Georgia, and Georgia Hospital Association, to identify ways policymakers can increase price transparency, as well as improve competition, to lower healthcare costs.

Georgia’s efforts may be a step in the right direction for all of healthcare. States are able to experiment with different solutions, explained researchers in Health Affairs.

“Monitoring the development and impact of these various laws helps to identify potential models for federal reform and other states,” they wrote. “While neither the federal nor state governments have cracked the code yet on the right mix of laws to ensure high-quality, affordable health care, states continue to be highly active, key players in developing approaches to address some of our most vexing health care challenges.”