The U.S. spends more on healthcare than any other similarly developed country, amounting to nearly a fifth of total GDP in 2024. This high level of spending is driven by high prices of healthcare services, prescription drugs, and medical devices, among others. However, accurate and reliable information on healthcare prices has been hard to come by and those looking to gain insight into the healthcare system have had to rely on proxy sources to estimate prices. These sources include Medicare rates, claims data, and other proprietary tools that vary in granularity, completeness, and accuracy. While people have done the best they could with these sources, without information on negotiated rates, the true picture of healthcare prices has remained blurry. The recent Price Transparency rules promise to bring some much-needed clarity.

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As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, price transparency has the potential to shift how investors evaluate opportunities and risks, providing a clearer foundation for strategy and decision-making.

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