Putting Healthcare Consumers First

Last week, Massachusetts’ Health Policy Commission convened for the annual Cost Trends Hearing, a two-day event exploring the Bay State’s healthcare market through expert testimony from industry representatives and policy makers.

Although the wide-ranging discussion covered many important topics, there was a distinct lack of focus on how consumers interact with and perceive our current healthcare system, until Pioneer’s Senior Fellow in Healthcare and long-time consumer advocate, Barbara Anthony, spoke during the public comment session.

Anthony’s testimony brought the Commission’s focus back to consumers and expressed disappointment with the implementation of the state’s 2012 healthcare price transparency legislation. The Chair of the Commission, Dr. Stuart Altman, thanked Anthony for her testimony and invited Pioneer to meet with the Commission and further explore this critical issue. To read all of Anthony’s testimony and Pioneer’s body of work on healthcare price transparency, please click the links below.

Research submitted with testimony:
Transparency in Retail Drug Prices: Easy to Obtain but Accuracy May Be Doubtful
Healthcare Prices for Common Procedures Are Hard for Customers to Obtain:  Survey finds hospitals not prepared to give price information to consumers
Bay State specialists and Dentists Get Mixed Reviews on Price Transparency
Massachusetts Hospitals Weak on Transparency

About the Author
Barbara Anthony, a lawyer, is a senior fellow in healthcare at Pioneer Institute focusing on healthcare price and quality transparency. She is also an associate at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Business and Government. She served as Massachusetts Undersecretary for Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation from 2009 to 2015.