Transparency advocacy
The AAFP advocates for policy to improve transparency: clear and verifiably accurate views into all elements of health care costs, pricing and billing.
Transparency in primary care
AAFP policy defines transparency in health care as sharing information that can be easily verified for accuracy. Information, underlying data and process should have transparency and an explicit disclosure of data limitations.
Transparency in health care must be supported by all stakeholders who hold information related to the payment, coverage, or evaluation of health care services, including but not limited to public and private payers, hospital systems, and other care delivery organizations.
Robust transparency policy is also needed to ensure that:
Policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders have data necessary to improve primary care access and delivery
The consolidation and vertical integration of health care systems threatening independent physician practices is limited
The AAFP's advocacy for transparency reform
The Academy’s position is that Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers must report exactly how and why they code, price and bill elements of health care. Such transparency should ensure that patients and physicians have access to accurate and meaningful information.
Achieving this would:
Improve quality at the point of care
Help control costs
Strengthen the physician-patient relationship
Recent AAFP communications
Joint communications with other organizations
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