HHS finalizes price transparency rules

Health insurers will be required to publicly post, in advance, the price for the most common services and procedures, under a rule finalized by the federal Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday (Source: “New Trump policy will force insurers to disclose prices up front,” The Hill, Oct. 29).

Patients will eventually have access to new information about cost, including an estimate of their cost-sharing liability, through an online self-service tool. Currently, this is information that patients typically receive only after they get those services, through an explanation of benefits form.

Beginning in 2022, insurers will be required to make available data files on the costs of various procedures, to better allow for research studies, and to help developers design tools to let patients compare costs across insurance plans. The requirement will take effect for 500 of the "most shoppable" services beginning in 2023, and then for all services starting in 2024.