Samuel M. Chang, University of California Hastings College of the Law
Jaime S. King, University of California Hastings College of the Law
In 2018, California lawmakers sought to design and create a state Health Care Cost Transparency Database, an all-payer claims database (APCD), which would collect information on the cost of health care in the state. The law tasks the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) with designing a database to best fit the needs. California’s APCD may collect information about amounts paid for health care services, including data about negotiated rates between insurance plans and providers. Many health care providers and payers seek to maintain the confidentiality of these paid amounts as trade secrets, claiming their secrecy provides a competitive advantage.
There are some issues regarding the public release of health care prices.
Economists and antitrust enforcers have theorized about how disclosure of negotiated rates in health care markets could facilitate price collusion and drive price increases. To date, however, no US
state with an existing APCD has experienced competitive harm, and, in fact, a decade of public disclosure of negotiated health care rates in New Hampshire resulted
in increased competition and reduced prices for health care services. Although, in some markets, disclosure of negotiated health care rates could theoretically result
in price collusion and increased prices.
The Secret of Health Care Prices: Why Transparency Is in the Public Interest - California Health Care Foundation:
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