HHS to Begin Disclosing Payments to Physicians, Hospitals

Within the next few weeks, the government is set to begin publicly disclosing the prices that federal health programs such as Medicare pay hospitals and doctors for routine medical procedures, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said recently. The move is part of a larger effort by the Bush administration to arm consumers with more information, in the hope that they will help drive down healthcare costs by seeking lower charges. The Medicare system will soon post on its Web site the prices it pays to cover certain procedures, Leavitt indicated. As the next step in this effort, the government will later publicize broader healthcare cost information specific to several cities. The cities in the pilot program, and the exact information to be disclosed, have yet to be identified however.