4.6.17
Americans bear a significant share of their health care costs in the form of high deductibles and insurance premiums, as well as copayments and, sometimes, coinsurance. Health care systems in the United States have historically not made it easy for people to find out how much their care will cost them. In 2016, 43 states received grades of “F” from Catalyst for Payment Reform for their price transparency laws. But in recent years, insurers, state governments, employers and other entities have been trying to make price information more easily available to individuals and families. In this changing landscape of price transparency, this research explores people’s behaviors, attitudes and perspectives related to health care price information.
Findings are based on a nationally representative survey of 2,062 U.S. adults and representative surveys of 802 New York State adults, 819 Florida adults, 808 Texas adults and 826 New Hampshire adults, conducted from July through September 2016 by telephone, including cell phones, and online.
This research was conducted by Public Agenda and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the New York State Health Foundation, and it follows up on a previous national survey conducted by Public Agenda with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, published in 2015. This nationally representative survey was conducted in conjunction with representative surveys in four states: Florida, New Hampshire, New York and Texas. (2017)
