Republican legislative leaders in Indiana plan to look at how the state can address high healthcare costs, according to The Journal Gazette.
The newspaper reports that lawmakers intend to begin tackling the issue during the 2020 session, and several recommendations have been forwarded for their consideration.
One recommendation is establishing an all-payers claims database. Such a state database would provide hospital, insurer and other data on healthcare price, usage and quality to get a better idea of healthcare costs overall, according to The Journal Gazette.
Indiana will also consider legislation to protect patients more from surprise medical bills.
House Speaker Brian Bosma told The Journal Gazette that his team is pursuing a transparency portal for consumers, insurers and medical professionals, and he's sure some lawmakers will want to discuss the nonprofit status of hospitals.
The plan to look into healthcare costs comes after a study conducted by Rand and the Employers' Forum of Indiana, an employer-led healthcare coalition, examined the prices paid to hospitals for services provided to privately insured patients compared to Medicare rates at 1,598 hospitals in 25 states. The results, released earlier this year, showed Indiana had the highest relative prices in 2017 among states.
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