The Hill News

What if I told you there was a cost-effective way to help businesses and employees lower their health care costs without sacrificing quality of care? Better yet, what if the solution could be easily implemented by businesses alone, without requiring government intervention or legislation? Finally, what if this solution could be launched today, with information that already exists, and deliver savings in a year?

While this may sound like a fantasy, the reality is that such a solution to rising health care costs already exists: price and quality transparency. And the need for transparency is greater than ever. Currently, healthcare does not function as an efficient market because consumers do not know price and quality before they purchase a service, such as a colonoscopy or X-ray. This lack of transparency has resulted in massive price variations for medical procedures between providers â€" even within a single health plan. As a result, far too many employees pa! y excessive health costs or even forgo care altogether simply because they do not know that more cost-effective options exist.

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