AHA letter to editor: Insurers key to health care cost transparency

In a letter to the editor responding to a recent editorial in Modern Healthcare, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack says hospitals are working to supply information on consumers’ expected out-of-pocket costs. “But we can’t supply accurate, useful information without insurers stepping up,” he writes. “That’s why we’ve urged policymakers to remove the most significant barrier: provider access to accurate cost-sharing information.” Hospitals “also understand the frustration patients have related to surprise medical bills,” he notes. “That’s why protecting patients and taking them out of the middle of negotiations between providers and health plans was at the top of the list of guiding principles we shared with legislators earlier this year. In addition, insurers should maintain adequate networks for access, which rate-setting proposals currently under consideration would inhibit.”