Modern Healthcare on a new North Carolina law, which will require hospitals to “shine a light on the actual prices paid by Medicare, Medicaid and the uninsured, as well as the average and range of prices paid by the top five insurers.”
“ ‘For too long, North Carolina patients have been in the dark on what they can expect to pay for common medical procedures when they are admitted to a hospital,’ [Gov. Pat] McCrory said in a news release. ‘This new law gives patients and their doctors pricing information so they can make an informed financial decision with regard to their healthcare.’
“North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, a Democrat, also praised the bill for helping ‘people who are struggling with incomprehensible medical bills and unreasonable collection practices’ and for requiring facilities to post their charity and financial assistance polices.
“ ‘We recommend that consumers shop around for a good deal, but our healthcare system doesn’t make that easy to do,” Cooper said in a news release. “Giving consumers straightforward information on what medical services cost and what they owe will help them make better decisions about their healthcare.”
“The North Carolina Hospital Association was less enthusiastic.” Andis Robeznieks, North Carolina to post prices of hospital procedures, services | Modern Healthcare. (registration required)
Jeanne Pinder is the founder and CEO of ClearHealthCosts. She worked at The New York Times for almost 25 years as a reporter, editor and human resources executive, then volunteered for a buyout and founded ClearHealthCosts.
With Pinder at the helm, ClearHealthCosts shared honors for the top network public service journalism project in a partnership with CBS News, as well as winning numerous other journalism prizes.
She was previously a fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at the Columbia University School of Journalism. ClearHealthCosts has won grants from the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York; the International Women’s Media Foundation; the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation with KQED public radio in San Francisco and KPCC in Los Angeles; the Lenfest Foundation in Philadelphia for a partnership with The Philadelphia Inquirer; and the New York State Health Foundation for a partnership with WNYC public radio/Gothamist in New York; and other honors.
She is one of Crain’s Notable Women in Tech. Niemanlab wrote of ClearHealthCosts that “The Internet hates secrets.”
Her TED talk about fixing health costs has surpassed 2 million views.