Hospitals hiding pricing data.

in healthcare •  4 years ago 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/hospitals-hide-pricing-data-from-search-results-11616405402

Yes, as the economist Ludwig von Mises suggested, interventions in the economy ultimately breed further cascading interventions. Controls breed controls. The healthcare sector is riddled with a maze of overwhelming controls, ostensibly designed to benefit patients and control costs, which have, instead, protected the earnings of doctors, hospitals and insurance companies.

What have we learned about markets and free enterprise?

Prices are how consumers communicate their needs and wants to the producers. The result is that ultimately, the producers are incentivised to render their services in the most cost effective way to deliver value to their customers.

Both sides ideally walk away from this with a net win.

This is the same with healthcare.

There are no real market prices for services rendered, just "administered prices" that reflect private arrangements with various big-player insurance companies. Now, with the public wilting under the strain of the crushing expense, the government acts to compel greater transparency of these so-called prices. Predictably the hospitals balk (the numbers defy belief and will produce outrage). So they attempt to hide the information from public view with computer subterfuge. Look next to calls for government to disallow this. How far will it go?

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!