3 ms·
Expecting price transparency to fix things without actually changing anything else doesn't solve anything, sure. The point isn't that prices aren't transparent,
by cheald 7y ago
Expecting price transparency to fix things without actually changing anything else doesn't solve anything, sure. The point isn't that prices aren't transparent, it's that prices are artificially high because they're opaque. Fixing the transparency and encouraging people to shop around should, in theory, help fix that inflation.
Currently, insurance premiums cost the average American family $19.5k/year[0] (yes, this includes employer contribution, and yes, the actual incidence falls nearly entirely on the employee[1]). Much of the point is that if pricing transparency were in place, costs of both care and premiums would plummet, resulting in more money in consumers' pockets to spend how they choose. What kind of medical care might you elect for if you had an extra $15k/year?
[0] https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/family-coverage/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/family-coverage/?c...
[1] https://www.nber.org/papers/w3557 https://www.nber.org/papers/w3557