Outcomes of price transparency policies for healthcare services in the United States: A systematic review

Background

This systematic review evaluates the role of price transparency policies for healthcare services in influencing price availability, price awareness, and health costs in the US.

Methods

We searched five databases for English-language studies evaluating price transparency policies in the US; literature reviews, perspectives, case reports, non-healthcare studies, and non-US studies were excluded. Two investigators independently conducted data extraction and quality assessment. We examined study risk of bias and quality using Cochrane and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute tools, qualitatively summarized study findings, and quantitatively analyzed included studies.

Results

Eighty-seven studies were included. Hospital price transparency mandates faced early issues with low compliance. Government price transparency programs were associated with reduced price growth for some services, but many lacked comprehensive pricing data by payer and provider. These findings were limited by the low quality of included studies.

Conclusions

Existing price transparency policies appear subject to substantial limitations, although emerging evidence suggests that they hold promise for changing price growth and healthcare utilization. Policymakers should consider modifying price transparency policies to become more robust, accurate, and user-friendly.

Public Interest Summary

In a recent review of 87 scientific studies, we investigated the efficacy of US policies in making healthcare prices clear and accessible to the public. Although hospitals often struggled with providing accurate and easy-to-use price information, government programs that shared this information helped slow down the rise in prices and encouraged people to use more affordable healthcare, especially for medical imaging. As healthcare prices keep rising, our findings suggest that better-designed government programs could help make prices clearer for everyone, potentially saving money and helping patients make informed decisions.