Is the price right?

Created by the 2011 Texas Legislature, the Texas Institute of Health Care Quality and Efficiency was directed to study three broad topics and report back to the legislature: improving the quality and efficiency of health care delivery by developing things like reportable measures; implementing innovative payment and delivery systems; and enhancing the reporting, organization, and transparency of health care data. Discussions on the latter sparked heated debate among the institute's board members in their charge to more specifically look at whether requiring physicians to publicly report the payment amounts they accept for specific services, and to stick to them, could help consumers make more informed health care decisions. A majority of the board members rejected the proposal in the institute's report to the legislature. Instead, they pointed to existing remedies that allow physicians, hospitals, and health plans to estimate patients' out-of-pocket costs, and recommended additional solutions that encourage patients to seek that information ahead of treatment. Still, as the report makes its way into lawmakers' hands, the idea is likely to resurface this legislative session.