Statement on Pricing Transparency

AHRMM’s Issues & Legislative Committee issued the following Statement on Pricing Transparency approved by AHRMM Board of Directors:

AHRMM supports the concept of pricing transparency. Healthcare supply chain professionals should be able to purchase products after careful consideration of market conditions. This insight may be gained by benchmarking their existing and/or proposed prices against blinded benchmark prices being paid for those products by other hospitals. Purchasers, physicians, and hospital staff members who administer or use products and/or services should be able to gain access to the actual cost of the medical devices, purchased and leased equipment, and supplies that they, their insurance providers, or the government will be asked to cover, whether it is a direct charge or included in a DRG or CPT payment. No contract should contain confidentiality language that would preclude hospitals from sharing their prices in a blinded process with a third party to benchmark prices. Additionally, hospital purchasing staff should have the ability to acquire blinded benchmark pricing from GPOs, consultants, and other third parties offering that service. Hospital purchasing and contracting staff members should be able to use that information to negotiate in good faith with suppliers.