Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021
Over the last three decades, the cost of American medical care has gone up 227%. This is after accounting for inflation. We spend an average of $12,642 on medical care every year, and we pay twice as much as other wealthy countries spend on their residents.
This week on “Charlotte Talks,” we’re going to continue to take a deeper look at WFAE’s health care series The Price We Pay and ask these questions: Why do we spend so much on care, and could hospital price transparency help with these costs?
After a regulation that went into effect on Jan. 1, hospitals are required to post their prices online in hopes that people can make comparisons and shop around for medical care. Could this be one of the solutions, or is this causing a hindrance to hospitals?
Guests:
Gerard Anderson, professor of health policy at Johns Hopkins University and national program director for Partnership for Solutions: Better Lives for People with Chronic Conditions.
Cynthia Fisher, founder and chairman of PatientRightsAdvocate.org
