Many hospitals aren't complying with price transparency regulations.
How much does that M.R.I. cost? You won't find out until you get the bill. When prices are invisible, hospitals can charge whatever they want. What other business works this way? |
That's why the Department of Health and Human Services implemented the Hospital Price Transparency Rule, which went into effect last year. It requires hospitals to list prices, giving patients more choice and understanding of the decisions they make when seeking health care. In a best-case scenario, it could spur competition between medical providers, driving prices down. |
But our rules are only as good as our ability to follow and enforce them. One study of 1,000 hospitals in the U.S. found that only 14 percent were compliant with the new rule. |
Martin Schoeller isn't OK with that. The photographer is known for his portraits of well-known faces, but much of his work takes a different tone. "I have focused much of my personal work photographing individuals and groups who have faced immense adversity and struggle in their lives, oftentimes marginalized as a result of great injustices perpetrated against them," Martin wrote to me in an email this week. |
"When I was photographing homeless people, I met professionals such as teachers, truck drivers and factory workers that couldn't pay their medical bills, which led to them declaring bankruptcy and, ultimately, living on the streets." |
He decided to concentrate on those who have been crushed by exorbitant hospital bills they didn't see coming, creating a series of portraits and this video for Times Opinion that he hopes will put pressure on hospitals to comply and regulatory bodies to enforce the new rule. |
"I have never been able to understand how people in this country can lose everything because of an illness," he says. "My hope, with this portrait series, is to reveal the dignity of these subjects while also revealing the transgressions routinely being committed against ordinary patients, especially by hospitals." |
What Our Readers Are Saying |
The solution is simple. Have the law work like Miranda rights. If the hospital doesn't post its cost schedule then they can only charge Medicare rates, or nothing. — GW, New York What is the point of knowing how much something is if you can't feasibly shop around anyway? It's one thing if it's a planned surgery (say, a hip replacement). It's quite another if you're having a heart attack or in a car accident. If you were in an emergency situation you wouldn't be in a good position to pick and choose or ultimately decide the price was too high and decide to forego treatment. Transparency is good. Single payer is better. — Kristina, Atlanta I just want the EXACT SAME medical coverage that members of Congress receive. That shouldn't be so hard for them to do. — Matt, San Francisco |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
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