\n<\/p>\n
New Year\u2019s Day marks the second anniversary of a federal\u00a0hospital price transparency rule<\/a>\u00a0that has the potential to substantially lower outrageous healthcare costs burdening patients, workers, businesses, and taxpayers. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services recently\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0the nation spent $4.3 trillion on healthcare in 2021, nearly 20 percent of GDP and\u00a0almost two times<\/a>\u00a0the developed-world average. The Biden administration can mark this occasion by committing to robustly enforce the rule to turn it into a reality for American healthcare consumers.\u00a0<\/p>\n The rule addresses the root of exorbitant hospital prices: hospitals\u2019 opaque charging practices that blind consumers to prices, then blindside them with inflated bills they often never would have agreed to if prices were known upfront. It requires hospitals to publish their discounted cash prices and negotiated insurance rates by health plan. Armed with this information, consumers can survey well-documented wide price variations for the same care, even at the same hospital, to avoid price gouging and access care at fair market rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n