Healthcare Administration Leadership & Management Journal
Price Transparency: Disclosing the Price of Care
U.S. healthcare spending has outpaced GDP, reaching 19.4% by 2027. Aging populations and lack of price regulation drive costs. Significant price variations and little correlation between price and quality contribute to waste. Consumers face higher out-of-pocket expenses because of rising premiums and high-deductible plans.
January/February 2025 Vol. 3, No. 1 pp. 47–49 DOI: 10.55834/halmj.1693628667
Abstract
In the past 60 years in the United States, healthcare spending has grown faster than the gross domestic product and is expected to represent 19.4 % of GDP by 2027. An aging population, increased demand for healthcare, and lack of price regulation by policymakers have increased utilization and prices, driving growth in healthcare spending. In addition to rising healthcare prices, research indicates that significant price variation exists for the same healthcare services and that there is little correlation between price and quality. Pricing failure, resulting from prices being “too high,” is the largest source of waste in U.S. healthcare spending. Further, consumers bear larger portions of their healthcare expenses as medical premiums increase and high-deductible plans become increasingly prevalent.
