Georgia Bill Aims For Transparency In Health Care Pricing

A bill advancing at the state Capitol in Georgia would allow patients to compare prices for a medical procedure, get an estimate of their out-of-pocket costs and assess the quality of doctors.

The state Senate voted 51-1 Tuesday in favor of the “Georgia Right to Shop Act, ” sending it to the House for more debate.

The bill would require health insurers to disclose what doctors in their network have accepted as payment for a medical procedure within the previous year. Insurers would also have to have a way on their website for consumers to compare “quality metrics” for in-network providers and get an estimate of out-of-pocket costs for a health service.