This report from the Catalyst for Payment Reform (CPR) and the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute shows little progress since 2014, and in some cases, states regressed. In the report, CPR and HCI3 say the report shows the need for more pricing transparency. The 2015 report is based on legislation enacted in 2014, but the researchers also say that many proposed price transparency laws never pass because of pressure from health insurers, hospitals, physician groups and others who benefit from keeping price data opaque. “That pressure often rests on spurious arguments about price as a trade secret and/or the potential for a state law on price transparency to violate contracted terms between payers, providers, and suppliers—arguments legislators and the media often accept,” the report said. In the report, CPR and HCI3 gave failing grades to 45 states. Only New Hampshire got an A; Colorado and Maine got Bs; and Vermont and Virginia got Cs.
