#163: Can Transparency Change the US Healthcare System? – With Ralph Weber

Transparency is the single topic with the most potential to transform every aspect of health and health insurance. We’ve decided to devote two episodes to this potentially innovative topic.For part one our guest is Ralph Weber, President and CEO of MediBid. Ralph is a passionate subject matter expert and serves as a member of NAHU’s Healthcare Cost and Quality Transparency Workgroup. In this interview, we explore his belief that current healthcare pricing schemes purposefully withhold information from consumers, and why Millennials in particular won’t accept the current status quo on transparency (or lack thereof).Ralph also describes the effects transparency has on the U.S. healthcare system, the marketplace, and the competitive environment. He shares why transparency alone won’t affect the needed changes to our healthcare system. We also learn why some hospitals charge more for the same type of treatment than others as we discuss the differences between static and dynamic pricing.What You’ll Learn From this Episode:Ralph’s journey in the health insurance space.The difference between dynamic and static pricing and its effect on the consumer.How Ralph defines transparency.Whether or not the most expensive care is the best healthcare.What the future of transparent pricing and healthcare services might look like.