Improving Healthcare: The Importance of Transparency in Pricing
Summary
In this article, we discuss the importance of transparency in healthcare pricing. We explore the speaker’s experience at a health conference in New York, where they suggest applying teacher qualifications to conference attendees and giving them a pop quiz at the end. The speaker believes that the lack of transparency in healthcare pricing is due to the commercial interest of the healthcare community, and the consolidation of insurers towards larger players. We also discuss the speaker’s involvement in healthcare and medicine for almost 20 years, funding research programs and advocating for reform.
Table of Contents
- Transparency in Healthcare Pricing
- Consolidation of Insurers
- Promoting Transparency
- Developing Objective Rating System
- Simplifying Billing Information
Transparency in Healthcare Pricing
The speaker attended a health conference in New York with an audience of 300 people in person and more watching online. The speaker suggests applying teacher qualifications to conference attendees and giving them a pop quiz at the end. The reason for the speaker’s attendance is due to an essay they wrote for WIRED magazine, calling for transparency in healthcare pricing. The speaker has become aware of the discrepancies in healthcare pricing and questions why there is no effort to promote transparency.
Consolidation of Insurers
The speaker suspects that the lack of transparency is due to the commercial interest of the healthcare community. The speaker is also concerned about the consolidation of insurers and their lack of interest in sharing costs. The consolidation towards larger players is a concern in most industries and the speaker has personal experience with the U.S. government’s laws executed by the Justice Department or the FTC. The federal government cannot apply antitrust laws against national healthcare companies, so states must take on this responsibility.
Promoting Transparency
However, commercial companies are unlikely to challenge each other, leaving educational institutions to promote transparency. The motivation for transparency must come from ordinary people’s anger towards their lack of knowledge about healthcare costs. The interviewee has been involved in healthcare and medicine for almost 20 years, funding research programs and advocating for reform. They have had some success in changing the way drug delivery and research is done, specifically in Parkinson’s disease.
Developing Objective Rating System
The interviewee believes that potential new treatments for brain degenerative diseases could involve local introduction of protein growth factors, but experimentation has been difficult due to the brain’s uneven fluid flow and the presence of blood vessels. MRI technology has allowed for real-time examination of the effects of these treatments. The speaker discusses their involvement in developing an objective rating system for movement disorders like Parkinson’s, which measures irregularities in hand or body movements. They note that current methods, like observing facial expressions or asking patients to move their hands, are inaccurate.
Simplifying Billing Information
The speaker also mentions their work on a project to make healthcare costs more transparent by simplifying billing information. They suggest that this issue is more complicated than it appears, as unclear billing practices enable the continuation of problematic economic behavior in the industry.
Conclusion
The speaker’s experience highlights the importance of transparency in healthcare pricing and the need for reform in the industry. By promoting transparency and developing objective rating systems, we can work towards improving healthcare for all.
