Health Care Opinion Leaders' Views on the Transparency of Health Care Quality and Price Information in the United States

The 12th Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey found that increased transparency in the quality and price of health care is important, according to a diverse group of experts. More than 80 percent of health care opinion leaders called for transparency on prescription drug prices and medical loss ratios (i.e., the share of premium dollars that private insurance companies spend on medical care). Most respondents believe increased transparency would reduce health care spending, primarily by stimulating providers to improve quality and efficiency and by allowing payers to reward such efforts. Favored policy strategies for improvement of health care transparency include the creation of a new public–private entity to standardize and implement transparency in health care; widespread adoption of health information technology; shared responsibility for funding across government, insurers, and providers; and federal leadership to create a meaningful system of public reporting on quality and price.

Also available are two related commentaries, A Historic Change by Robert Galvin, M.D., director of global health care for General Electric, and Patients Can't Do It Alone by Paul Ginsburg, Ph.D., president of the Center for Studying Health System Change.