Colorado launches new hospital price finder tool
(The Center Square) – Colorado Governor Jared Polis launched the Colorado Hospital Price Finder this week.
It’s a tool made available to the public by HB22-1285. It hopes to “connect Coloradans with services, increase price transparency, and save people money on health care,” according to the governor’s office.
It complements another state-generated price transparency initiative Polis announced earlier this year, providing residents with greater healthcare price transparency.
“Saving Coloradans money on health care is a top priority, and I am excited to help launch this new and free Colorado Hospital Price Finder to make healthcare pricing more competitive and save people money on healthcare,” Polis said in a statement. “I am excited to see more of these tools online because the more transparency the better for all of us. We will continue to ensure Colorado’s competitive health care market provides high-quality care to everyone at lower costs and provide more clarity on the true cost of health care.”
The Polis-Primavera Administration has passed bipartisan laws, hoping to improve price transparency in Colorado’s healthcare system.
“For far too long there has been a veil of secrecy and confusion that has made it hard for payers, whether that’s employers, municipalities, school districts, and other purchasers of health care, to negotiate lower prices with hospitals. This tool breaks down barriers, and helps purchasers and policymakers access the information they need to lower costs for consumers,” Lt. Governor Primavera said.
HB22-1285 (Prohibiting Collection Hospital Not Disclosing Prices) banned hospitals from taking debt collection action against patients if the hospitals failed to comply with federal reporting requirements. SB23-252 (Medical Price Transparency) required hospitals to make reimbursement rates accessible to the public.
Additionally, the Polis administration recently announced the reinsurance initiative will save Coloradans $493 million in healthcare premiums next year.
“Without the reinsurance initiative, costs would be higher for hardworking Coloradans,” the release said. “This new service provides Coloradans the ability to research all available prices at every hospital and shop for the care that works for individuals and families. The new and free tool shows the total price that the hospital charges each payer, although the final amount charged to Coloradans depends on each person’s insurance plan and coverage.”
More information about Colorado Hospital Price Finder is available at ColoradoHospitalPrices.com.
