Is price transparency helping?

Over three years after price transparency regulations went into effect, people want to know: is price transparency leading to a more competitive healthcare market? Is it resulting in more affordable healthcare for consumers?

In this white paper, we analyzed commercially negotiated rates at over 200 hospitals across the 10 largest US metropolitan areas, focusing on 37 common healthcare services from December 2021 to June 2024.

Our findings reveal:

• Significant price convergence, with high rates declining by 6.3% annually and low rates increasing by 3.4% annually
• Pervasive price convergence across 82.8% of the markets we examined
• Greater price convergence in outpatient services compared to inpatient services

This analysis lays the groundwork for understanding the market response to price transparency, providing insights to inform ongoing policy discussions and identify key areas for future research in healthcare economics.