Americans are hoping for more transparency when it comes to healthcare costs. A recent study found 33% of consumers did not seek needed medical care during the pandemic largely because they had no idea how much debt they would incur. David Balat, with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, says that number doesn’t surprise him.
“I would imagine that a lot of people did not go get the medical care that they thought they might need because of the black box that healthcare prices reside in,” Balat said.
Republicans and Democrats largely agree that healthcare costs at hospitals and other medical facilities should be upfront.
“Why aren’t they compliant? They don’t want to show the price because they have a competitive advantage by keeping things in that black box. Now, I do have it on good authority from their trade association here in Texas that at least the Texas hospitals will be compliant by the end of the summer,” Balat explained.
He believes the federal government needs to step in and encourage free market principles just like they did with the airline industry in 1978.