Health care pricing: Why it's time to consider big changes

In his New York Times best-selling book "The Price We Pay," Dr. Marty Makary discusses the worsening crisis of high health care costs and the impact on quality of care. Is price transparency the answer? Listen to the latest podcast episode for Dr. Makary's perspective and hear about his work as a Johns Hopkins surgeon and professor of public health, where he is researching ways to bridge the divide between cost and quality.

Price transparency ushers in quality transparency. The fundamental problem with quality transparency and the reason it has stagnated for so long is that it has not had the impetus or push from those who are shopping for care. If you think price transparency alone is the silver bullet, I’ve got news for you. It’s not. If you think it’s as simple as publishing your Hospital Compare quality scores next to prices, it’s not that simple.

Marty Makary, MD, Best-Selling Author, Surgeon and Professor of Public Health, Johns Hopkins