Politics & Government

California Fails in Healthcare Costs Transparency

A new national report gives California a "D" for its overall legislative effort to make healthcare cost information more accessible to consumers.

California health care cost transparency laws are seriously lacking, according to a new national study released Monday, which looked at how much health care pricing information is readily available to consumers.

(Find the study attached to the right.)

Estimated prices for certain healthcare procedures in Napa Valley can be found on sites such as healthcarebluebook.com. It lists procedures such as fetal ultrasounds for $214 and estrogen test panels for $88 in the Napa area.

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California received a "D" for its overall legislative effort toward price transparency for health care, according to the report. Thirty-six states received a "D" of "F" and only 14 got a grade of "C" or better. Massachusetts and New Hampshire were the only states to receive an "A." 

The study graded each state on a set of criteria, awarding more points to states with laws requiring health care cost information be posted on a website. States received less points if their laws require the information be released in a public report, be made available on request or only require release to a specific state agency.  

Find out what's happening in Napa Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The report card was released by Catalyst for Payment Reform and the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute, non-profit advocacy organizations representing doctors, patients and employers.  

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