A new federal health care rule requires hospitals to publicly post prices for every service they offer and break down those prices by component and procedure.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

A new health care law went into effect on New Year's Day. The Transparency in Coverage Rule requires hospitals to publicly post prices for every service they offer and break down those prices by component and procedure. The idea is to let patients choose where to go, with price taken into consideration. The new rule was made possible through the efforts of Cynthia Fisher. She's the founder of ViaCord and ViaCell companies and founder and chairman of patientrightsadvocate.org. She joins us now. Thank you so much for being with us.

CYNTHIA FISHER: Thank you, Scott. It's a joy to be here.

SIMON: And I gather you lobbied President Trump personally on this, right?

FISHER: Well, President Trump and also Secretary Azar and Acosta and Scalia listened to patients from across America, hearing the stories of being blindsided by outrageous medical bills. And President-elect Biden is supporting price transparency in his manifesto. And this is the win to put affordable into the Affordable Care Act. It's golden.

SIMON: You're confident that it will drive down costs. I mean, that's the whole logic. Why do you think it'll drive down costs?

FISHER: Well, we were also able to bring to the administration innovative surgical centers that already started this price-transparent world. And what these employers were able to do by contracting these price-transparent centers is, for around $15,000, get a knee replacement. In many of the opaque hospital systems where prices are hidden, we've seen knee replacements as high as $60-$75,000. When we can save nearly $50,000 on a knee replacement, that's a huge savings to not only the individuals and their families, but also their employers.

SIMON: I have to ask then, Ms. Fisher, because, you know, it's also been said that instead of inspiring high-priced hospitals and surgical centers to lower their prices, this might just inspire the lower-cost hospitals and surgical centers to say, hey, we can get people to pay more for a heart stent or spinal fusion, so we're going to raise our prices.

FISHER: You know, in every other marketplace in our economy, the consumers benefited from competition. So when hospitals have to compete for our hard-earned dollars, what we can see as consumers is, we'll shop with our feet to get the best quality of care at the lowest possible price. Think about it. Why didn't we know prices in health care? It's almost absurd. And now that's over.

SIMON: Any concern, Ms. Fisher, that people are going to make their judgments according to price? You know, when all is said and done, do you really want to get the cheapest hip replacement possible or the best?

FISHER: Well, there's wide variation in prices within the same facility. So, for instance, an MRI in Boston at a discounted cash price can be $250. In the same facility, you can pay as high as $2,000 from an insured negotiated rate. The only way that a consumer can benefit to get that lower rate is to know those price variations and not stand for being price gouged.

SIMON: I think some people listening to our conversation might think this is the regretful thing about the American health care system. People have to shop to receive health care. Why shouldn't it just be their right to have the lowest possible price?

FISHER: Well, I agree with you that it should be the American consumers' right to have the lowest possible price. I can share with you, Scott, that this week, the American consumers won in the courts, and no more will we have those surprise bills. Every bill's been a surprise.

SIMON: Cynthia Fisher, who is the founder and chair of patientrightsadvocate.org, thanks so much for being with us.

FISHER: Thank you. Thank you so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Tags: health care costs  Hospitals