THE HILL | “How much does health care cost?” It isn’t an easy question to answer. Your yearly check-up, a colonoscopy, or trip to the emergency room doesn’t typically come with an obvious price tag. And it isn’t just finding out the price of a service or product that’s difficult; it’s also difficult to determine the quality of the care provided. In fact, Princeton Economics professor Uwe Reinhardt has likened “shopping” for healthcare to trying to find a purple sweater in a department store while blindfolded.

Greater transparency and access to information about the prices and quality of health care would be beneficial to consumers, providers, policymakers, and stakeholders alike. To achieve the Triple Aim of better population health, an improved health care system, and a lower rate of cost and spending growth, we must take the blindfold off.

Read more in The Hill: http://thehill.com/opinion/op-ed/244714-advancing-transparency-in-healthcare-a-call-to-action