Can a Coalition of Local Cities Bring Price Transparency and Consistency to Healthcare?

Can a Coalition of Local Cities Bring Price Transparency and Consistency to Healthcare?: Estimates say around $40 billion every year is spent on healthcare in Dallas-Fort Worth, and as prices continue to increase, all entities are looking for ways to bring down costs. A coalition of 30 cities and the greater DFW area came together in 2015 to form the North Texas Coalition to bring more transparency, sustainability, and predictability to the healthcare market. The coalition hopes to use strength in numbers to get bids directly from regional hospital systems for healthcare services. Some members of the coalition have seen dividends from this strategy. Fort Worth saved $19 million in healthcare spending in 2018 through directly contracting with health providers, resulting in a seven percent reduction in inpatient costs per member per month in 2018 compared to 2017 and a 19 percent reduction in high cost claimants. According to data from the American Hospital Association, private payers pay 63 percent more than Medicare and Medicaid for the exact same hospital services. The