By Ansley Franco

Nearly five years ago, the No Surprises Act laid the groundwork for a significant shift in healthcare business practices in the form of increased data transparency. For physicians, administrators and hospital leaders, access to clear financial information is no longer a luxury. It is becoming a necessary tool for negotiating contracts, evaluating partnerships and planning for long-term stability.

“The value for physicians and administrators is that the information is available to understand what everyone’s allowables are. This gives us the opportunity to work from a position of knowledge when we engage in contract negotiations or when considering joining an accountable care organization. This is applicable in numerous situations,” President and CEO of e3c3 Consulting Cameron Cox said.

E3c3 works with independent practices and health systems across the country, advising them on regulatory compliance, revenue cycle management and strategic planning. For Cox, transparency is more than a buzzword. It is a practical way for physicians to understand where they stand in the marketplace, allowing them to make decisions without being left in the dark.

Adam Garner, business development officer at After Transparency, agrees. His company helps hospitals and provider groups make sense of the complex financial information they receive. After Transparency gathers data, organizes it and makes it usable for decision makers who need to understand not just what the numbers say, but how to act on them.

“It levels the playing field. It gives information to providers that they didn’t know before. And carriers have had this for a while,” Garner said. “Providers have never known what they were getting paid in comparison to their competitors.”

To explain the importance of data transparency, Cox compared it to choosing between gas stations. Drivers can see prices from the road and decide where to fill up based on affordability. In the medical world, providers now have similar visibility. They can see whether the facility down the road is being reimbursed more for the same procedure, which allows them to take the information to the insurance company.

“The thought process is that openness will create competition, which will be healthy, and will drive up reimbursement for providers, while lowering costs and increasing options for the patient,” Garner said.

In Alabama and across the Southeast, independent physicians can feel the weight of negotiating with large insurers. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama remains the state’s dominant carrier, which can make transparency even more important. Understanding allowable amounts and reimbursement trends helps physicians evaluate whether contracts are sustainable. “This data transparency empowers physicians to realize that maybe ‘I’m worth more than you say I am’,” Garner said. “Those are the assumptions. We’ll see how that plays out.”

​Both Garner and Cox believe that the shift toward transparency is still in its early stages. Regulations have forced insurers and hospitals to publish more information, but the process of turning raw data into actionable knowledge remains a challenge, in part because of the enormous scale of the data. That’s where consulting firms and data platforms can make a difference, especially for independent practices that may lack the resources to do it on their own.

“The challenge with the data is that it’s massive. So, it’s really not available for the layperson. I couldn’t just go through it, even though it’s free,” Cox said. “You can’t do anything with it. It’s larger than the Library of Congress.”

Garner agreed, adding that the first obstacle for any provider is simply obtaining the data. “It is public, but just like Mount Everest is public, you need experts to navigate and get you there.”

Cox says the importance of this work cannot be overstated because the data ultimately affects every provider with a private insurance contract, as well as employers and patients.

Some physicians hesitate when they hear the cost of turning transparency data into a usable format. “Let’s say it costs you $5,000 to get the data in a format in which I can use it,” Cox said. “They don’t understand the upside to it. Most physicians, when they hear the word expense, think of overhead. When I hear the word expense, I think investment. You can use this information to do different things; it doesn’t have to just be contract negotiations. It can be all kinds of things with regard to your practice.”

Looking ahead, Cox hopes to simplify the data and get it into the hands of every provider. Garner sees the potential for transparency to be used by the patient to determine where the most affordable option for care is based on their insurance.

For Alabama’s physicians, the takeaway is straightforward. Transparency is no longer something to watch from a distance. It is a resource that can be used now, while the healthcare market continues to evolve.