Hospital Price Transparency

[tjscott0]

The hospital price transparency rule is working, but patients still need help...

In January 2021, a new federal rule went into effect requiring hospitals to publish the prices of hundreds of services in a machine-readable format.

From the outset, many were skeptical. Hospitals were slow to comply, and the data they published were often difficult to interpret. At the same time, insured patients rarely search for prices before receiving care, resulting in fewer than one in five U.S. adults being aware of health care costs beforehand

Published Nov. 22, 2024

Hospital price transparency continues to drop: report

AI to the rescue?

Oria

What is this app?

Oria is an AI-powered chatbot that helps you understand hospital pricing data. Ask questions in natural language about pricing strategy, market rates and competitor contracts, and get instant answers backed by hospital transparency data.

How it works

Our specialized AI chatbot can understand your questions about hospital pricing and automatically query our database of hospital transparency data to provide accurate, up-to-date information. You can ask about:

** Pricing for specific medical procedures (MRI, surgery, lab tests)*
** Insurance negotiated rates*
** Medical codes (CPT, HCPCS, DRG)*
** Comparing costs between different services*

Data Source

Our pricing data comes from hospital transparency reports required by federal law. Hospitals must publish their standard charges, negotiated rates with insurance companies and cash prices for medical services. We’ve processed and structured this data to make it easily searchable and understandable. You can also explore the data yourself.

[1poorguy]

Anecdote here.

1poorMIL immigrated when she was already a senior. As she was not a citizen, she was not eligible for Medicare (or pretty much anything else). And I could not get her health insurance at any price.** There is a subset of providers you can find that either don’t require insurance, or don’t take it at all. It’s pretty easy to get pricing from these folks. The lab we used for her actually have a menu (for lack of a better term) that listed prices for each item. Check the boxes of what you want, and you know how much it will cost instantly.

Most people never see that because they never have to think about it. They show up to an in-network lab, and the bloodwork is handled from there.

**Literally. I asked a few companies “is there any plan, any premium, to get her covered”. It was categorically “no”. Not for any price, they wouldn’t touch her.