Submission Date

7-21-2023

Document Type

Paper

Department

Business & Economics

Faculty Mentor

Jennifer VanGilder

Comments

Presented during the 25th Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 21, 2023 at Ursinus College.

This research was supported by the Whitman Scholarship.

Project Description

The healthcare industry is one of the most praised industries in the US due to its lifesaving capabilities and immersive care. Consumers regularly report that are satisfied with the care they receive from their physicians. Conversely, they also report frustrations and confusions associated with the costs of such care. In extreme cases, this frustration can turn to financial ruin as medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the US. The healthcare industry does not operate in congruence with other markets, largely due to the presence of insurance and other third-party payers. The undisclosed interactions between third party payers and medical providers have led to runaway costs for consumers. An additional challenge to the market is the pricing secrecy found within hospitals and other healthcare systems. The federal government identified this injustice and on January 1, 2021, the Hospital Price Transparency rule went into effect. Since this ruling, there has been a wide range of hospital compliance by state. Some previous literature suggests that the most compliant hospitals exist in urban and un-concentrated markets, whereas other literature disputes this. This research aims to uncover additional demographic and economic similarities between states that may be contributing to compliance rates. Data collected through sources such as the Patient Right Advocate (PRA) and Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) were analyzed using multivariate regression to determine the most impactful factors of compliance. The analysis did not indicate any significant variables that may predict compliance. Further research would likely benefit from being conducted on the hospital level rather than the state level.

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