An interesting commentary in Forbes.com discusses the effect of the availability of comparative information on helping lower hospital prices. The author refers to an article published in Health Affairs last January (Medicare’s Hospital Compare Quality Reports Appear To Have Slowed Price Increases For Two Major Procedures) which found that the existence of this comparative information on CMS’s Hospital Compare may be helping lower hospital prices. One reason put forward by the authors that hospital comparison websites have such an impact is because insurance companies take a look at the data before negotiating prices with hospitals.
Read more:
- Could Measuring Healthcare Quality Lower Hospital Prices?, Forbes.com
- Medicare’s Hospital Compare Quality Reports Appear To Have Slowed Price Increases For Two Major Procedures. Health Aff January 2015 34:171-77;