Healthcare: Costs, Competition and Transparency

The rising costs of care for individuals is one of the single greatest threats to the overall economic security of Americans. Over the past 30 years, the cost of healthcare has steadily risen by almost 5 percent, annually. Rising costs have coincided with a sharp rise in consolidation within the healthcare industry. Lowering these costs can be achieved through greater price transparency in the healthcare system. This book discusses the need to improve price transparency in health care as well as improve competition amongst payers and providers of health care to help lower costs for patients.