Anyone in the CDH space will tell you that one of the key requirements to engage consumers is provider price and quality transparency. In order to tap into the awesome power of the American consumer (uneducated and misplaced as it may be), information and tools are needed.
But there are plenty of other mechanisms in place in need of "transparency". Over half of U.S. citizens are in health insurance plans provided through their employer. This is an invention of the mid-20th century to create bargaining power, originally with providers and provider groups, evolving to insurers, and ultimately to HMOs and managed care organizations.
Like taxes, there are some efficencies that come from health plans working with employers and collecting premiums through payroll. But also like taxes, consumers have in many cases become "numb" and are less aware of just how much they are paying.
When I was self-employed and paid quarterly estimated taxes, I always said, "If everyone had to write out a check each quarter (or their healthplan premiums each month), there would be many more fiscal conservatives in the world."
By focusing exclusively on the cost of provider services (and less so on the cost of insurance benefits which are often shared between employer and employee but with less visibility to the overall cost), the consumer doesn't get the whole picture.
Is it time to sunset employer-sponsored health plans?
