Braun says insurers should disclose prices

Freshman U.S. Sen. Mike Braun has introduced legislation that would require health insurance providers to disclose to their customers the prices of all covered medical procedures.

Braun, R-Ind., announced Wednesday the filing of the True Price Act to Bring Transparency to Healthcare Costs.

The bill would have insurers tell enrollees the negotiated price for each medical service covered by the plan, including the amounts paid by the plan and any cost-sharing amounts charged to enrollees. The bill would require that the information be posted on the insurer's website and made available in paper version upon request.

“Transparency is the key to holding healthcare providers accountable and empowers consumers to get the best healthcare possible for the lowest price,” Braun said in a statement.

“The same drug can vary in price by hundreds of dollars despite being sold only blocks apart and Americans deserve to know how this racket operates and who is getting rich.”

The True Price Act is the fourth bill Braun has introduced since taking office this year that aims to control medical costs.

The others would ban drugmaker rebates to pharmacy benefit managers, speed the federal drug review process and discourage pharmaceutical companies from trying to delay the approval of generic drugs.

Braun campaigned last year in part on his experience with health insurance coverage for employees of his Jasper-based auto parts distribution company.

His True Price Act drew mixed reactions.

“The general intent of the legislation to foster more price availability is admirable,” Ryan Stoneburner, owner of local insurance brokerage Health Insurance Inc., said in an email.

But Stoneburner questioned the practicality of insurers having to list all of their negotiated rates for “thousands of service codes and hundreds of plan designs” in a large geographic area.

Caitlin Donovan, director for outreach and public affairs for the National Patient Advocate Foundation, said most insurers already offer ways for patients to obtain medical cost estimates.

“The problem is that this data is not always reliable, and in fact usually comes with a disclaimer. If this bill could actually ensure that patients could find reliable information about out-of-pocket costs prior to a service, that would be very valuable,” Donovan said in an email.

“My worry with some of these transparency bills and regulations is that although they represent a good first step, they also reveal a fundamental misunderstanding about what motivates patients to choose certain providers and undergo certain procedures,” she said.

“Patients are restricted by networks and geography, and they're motivated by financial and emotional reasons. They often prefer to go to whatever provider or facility is recommended by their primary physician rather than shop around.”

Donovan added, “I'm excited for the day when our lawmakers really start to think about the ways we can change our system to fit our patients, rather than changing our patients to fit our system.”

bfrancisco@jg.net