Imagine walking into a doctor’s office or hospital and immediately knowing the cost of care before being treated. As you check in, you see a list of prices for all their most common services — the procedures performed so often that the provider already knows what they cost.
That is what my family experienced during an unfortunate visit to a doctor’s office and hospital in Mexico. Prices were clearly listed behind the counter, and we were informed of the cash prices for each service before receiving care. Upfront price transparency for routine hospital services is not a radical reform. It is a prerequisite for competition, accountability and consumer choice in healthcare.
This is not about importing another country’s healthcare system. It is about adopting a basic consumer expectation: prices should be known before purchase.
Justin Leventhal is a senior policy analyst for the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization that advocates for consumers through evidence-based analysis and data. Follow Justin on X @JustinLeventhal.