Price transparency was supposed to empower patients and employers — help them make informed decisions, control costs, and inject some much-needed accountability into healthcare pricing. But in the hands of Big Health, every well-intentioned reform is just another revenue opportunity in disguise.
I recently came across a consulting deck from a well-known firm that wasn’t just explaining how price transparency regulations impact the industry — it was actively pitching payers on how to profit from it. The message wasn’t “this is a step toward a more efficient, rational market.” No, it was “this is your chance to drive more revenue.”
The deck laid out strategies to upsell, cross-sell, and bundle services — as if we were talking about upgrading from chicken to steak or from an L Series to an S Series. How much longer will we allow the industry to talk about our bodies like we’re commodities to be exploited?
Here’s how price transparency is already being used to drive new revenue streams:
▪️ Targeted recommendations: Price transparency, meant to help make informed choices, actually means they now know exactly how to steer you. With real-time analytics, they can upsell and cross-sell services like a Netflix algorithm — except instead of “Because you watched Breaking Bad, you might like Better Call Saul,” it’s “Because you had a knee MRI, you might like an arthroscopic surgery consultation.”
▪️ Bundled services (aka, the healthcare combo meal): Big Health saw price transparency and thought, why let patients pick à la carte when we can package everything — whether they need it or not? Instead of just a “routine checkup” why not add a “wellness package” with extra screenings and a genetic test? Having a baby? Why don’t you opt in to our luxury maternity suite with postnatal concierge services?
▪️ Incentivized programs: This one’s a masterclass in psychological manipulation. Instead of competing on price or quality, Big Health is using behavioral economics to nudge patients into choices that maximize revenue. Hospitals or insurers could “reward” you for choosing their preferred providers, who just so happen to have the highest negotiated rates. They could create “loyalty” programs where patients earn points (redeemable for who-knows-what) when they get their labs, imaging, and elective procedures within the system — keeping money locked in.
These incentives are not necessarily aligned with the best or most cost-effective care — it’s all about revenue maximization.
They’ll sell all of this under the guise of “enhancing patient experience” and “helping consumers navigate their options.” The reality? Monetization of transparency to subtly control patient choices — not to empower patients themselves.
We’ve let them turn healthcare decisions into sales tactics — treating patients like customers at a luxury car dealership, not human beings in need of care.
Upselling belongs in restaurants and showrooms, not in operating rooms and oncology wards.
Chris Deacon, an expert in healthcare law and founder of VerSan, a healthcare consultancy, posted this on LinkedIn. We are re-posting with her permission.[
