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.
Related resources
Learn, listen, and watch the latest on price transparency.
2025 drug reimbursement trends report
Turquoise Health and ZS's 2025 drug reimbursement trends report analyzes millions of hospital and payer-reported drug rates across 17 products and 4 therapeutic areas revealing how payer-provider dynamics drive reimbursement from 3× to 10× ASP. Explore the data.
Turquoise's public comment on CMS-9882-NC
Turquoise Health's public comment on CMS-9882-NC supporting the expansion of price transparency to include prescription drugs and making the case for comprehensive drug rate disclosure as critical healthcare infrastructure. Read our full analysis.
Turquoise's public comment on CMS-0042-NC
Turquoise Health's public comment on CMS-0042-NC supporting binding upfront cost estimates and providing detailed feedback on PC-12 and TD-19 regarding price transparency implementation and good faith estimate frameworks. Read our full analysis.