A bill introduced in the Ohio Senate health committee on Wednesday would require hospitals in the state to submit annual data on treatments and costs to the Ohio Department of Health, which then would post the information online for the public to access, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
The information would include how often medical procedures are performed, as well as complication and infection rates, lengths of stay and mortality rates. The public also would be able to compare the price of private and semi-private rooms, nursing care, the 30 most common X-rays, and emergency, operating and delivery room services.
Proponents of the bill, which already has passed in the House, say the information would make patients better consumers and might result in lower hospital prices. Robert Caswell, associate dean of the School of Public Health at Ohio State University, said "It might create a little pressure for organizations to lower their charges so they can appear competitive."
Hospital officials, however, argue that the measure would mean more work for them and that they already provide the state and federal governments with care quality data. In addition, they note that the reported prices would not be an accurate reflection of the amount hospitals receive because Medicaid, Medicare and insurers pay lower, negotiated prices, the Dispatch reports.
"We all know the sticker price of a car, and it may not be what we pay, but we know the difference between a Lexus and a Honda," said state Rep. Jim Raussen, the bill's sponsor. "There are differences, but we still can get a sticker price, a ballpark of what something costs on a procedure from one facility to another" (Hoholik, Columbus Dispatch, 3/8).