WASHINGTON — The federal government on Thursday finalized a rule that requires health insurers to publicly disclose the rates they negotiate with hospitals, doctors, and drug manufacturers.
The move represents a dramatic change to the health care marketplace, and likely will result in significant added transparency between competing industry groups and, to an extent, for patients. It will significantly impact the pharmaceutical industry in particular: It requires private-sector insurers to disclose drug prices either negotiated directly with drug manufacturers or through pharmacy benefit managers.
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My Medicare Advantage plan sends me a quarterly summary of out of pocket spending for medical and hospital claims. It also tells me how much counts toward my out of pocket maximum. I get similar reports on drug spending.