The New Mexico Department of Health has launched a health care transparency website intended to spur competition between hospitals to help reduce costs and improve quality of care, writes The Heartland Institute.
The website lists the average prices paid by Medicaid for nine common non-emergency procedures offered at the state’s 44 hospitals. The site also provides quality metrics for hospitals in the state, such as data on 30-day readmission rates and patient-provided quality ratings.
The website, developed by a research organization called Think New Mexico, is the result of legislation signed into law in 2015 by Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican. Implementation of the website, including the transparency database, was completed in 2018. The initial phase of the health care transparency website is available at nmhealthcarecompare.com. The next phase for the website includes expanding the number of procedures listed on the site and adding the average prices paid by New Mexicans who are covered by individual or employer insurance policies.