Calling all finance leaders: Price transparency needed now

by Ilene MacDonald, FierceHealthcare Last week I had the privilege to attend the Healthcare Financial Management Association in Orlando, Fla., when it announced its release of draft best practices for financial interactions and the establishment of a task force to address transparency issues. These bold moves, under the direction of HFMA President and CEO Joseph H. Fifer, come at a time when the healthcare industry is under siege from all directions--the government, payers and consumers who are fed up with rising costs and don't understand their out-of-pocket expenses. Healthcare financial leaders can no longer keep their head in the sand and ignore the role that healthcare spending has played in breaking state and federal budgets, Fifer said. It's time for them to step up and lead the debate about healthcare costs within their communities. "People want to know why healthcare costs what it does and what we're doing about it," Fifer said. "We need to move beyond the rhetoric." The concept--to create a pricing structure and rationale so that patients understand upfront how much they will need to pay for out-of-pocket expenses--is so simple and necessary but one that requires buy-in from all stakeholders. And for those who say that prices don't mean anything, Fifer countered that response will no longer fly in an environment where more and more employers are turning to value-based plans and accountable care organizations care for 10 percent of Americans. "Have you trie...
Source: hospital impact - Category: Health Managers Authors: Source Type: blogs