Can price transparency drive down health costs? The jury is still out

For example, providers and health plans are both required under federal regulations to post their prices online. However, provider compliance has been spotty, and insurers’ data releases have proven difficult to use. For these regulations to work, industry organizations must actively participate and ensure the data can be combed effectively, according to a blog post from the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms.

Multiple pieces of bipartisan legislation aim to take these regulations further, such as requiring insurers to make the data available in a more readily usable...