New Survey Finds 91% of Americans Want Healthcare Price TransparencyMost Americans Believe Price Transparency Will Improve Healthcare for Patients CHICAGO, April 1, 2020 – LUGPA, a trade association representing independent urology group practices in the U.S., today released the results of a new survey of American consumers. Conducted by international polling firm, YouGov, the survey found an overwhelming majority of Americans support price transparency in healthcare. When surveyed, 91% of the 1,342 respondents said they believe hospitals and healthcare facilities should be required to publicly disclose the costs of their services. What’s more, 66% of respondents believe price transparency will improve healthcare. “The research confirms what we’ve known all along: patients want to understand what their care will cost them,” said Dr. Richard Harris, president of LUGPA. “With healthcare costs being a huge issue for Americans, keeping these costs from patients is problematic because it prevents them from making informed decisions about their care options. LUGPA strongly supports beginning with hospital price transparency and then moving to all providers.” The poll also found that 66% of Americans would shop for care if prices were publicly disclosed, a finding that conflicts claims often made by hospitals and groups in opposition to healthcare price transparency. “Hospitals find a multitude of excuses to dismiss price transparency, most prominently that Americans wouldn’t shop for care even if they could,” said Dr. Mara Holton, LUGPA health policy committee vice chair. “Our findings establish this excuse as a gross underestimation of patients’ desire to participate in the care decision-making process.” As part of its work, the survey also tested the hospital industry’s contention that price transparency will cause less costly providers to increase their prices in order to earn the same amount of money as their competitors. An overwhelming 85% of respondents rejected this argument. “Independent physicians are at the center of delivering value-based care for patients,” Dr. Harris continued. “We’re encouraged to know that patients see through the hospital industry’s false talking points and recognize that cost-effective, personalized care, is a defining characteristic of independent practices.” The survey’s results come on the heels of a long ensuing back-and-forth between hospitals and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) following the Trump administration’s June 2019 executive order requiring hospitals to publish the prices of their services. The majority of survey respondents (62%) reported finding price transparency to be most meaningful when healthcare facilities publish personally relevant charges, such as co-pays, deductibles, and out-of-pocket expenses as opposed to standard care costs. “LUGPA believes hospital price transparency is the first step in an ongoing journey to encouraging a competitive healthcare market. As we continue down this path, we hope to foster opportunities to identify and widen the administration of value-based care through better access to personally relevant healthcare costs,” concluded Dr. Harris. View the complete survey results (PPT)
# # # About LUGPA LUGPA is a trade association that represents independent urology group practices in the U.S., with more than 2,170 physicians who make up more than 25 percent of the nation's practicing urologists, and provide more than 30 percent of the total urologic care in the U.S. The Association is committed to providing the best resources and information for its member practices through advocacy, research, data collection and benchmarking efforts. LUGPA advocates for independent urology practices by promoting quality clinical outcomes, fostering new opportunities and improving advocacy in the legislative and regulatory arenas. For more information, visit lugpa.org. About the YouGov Survey
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