Insurance companies turn every claim into a dispute. Mark Cuban believes transparency could lower prices in a $1.6 trillion industry

Health insurance is designed to help us manage the cost of medical care, but for many people, even getting their entitlement recognized is a struggle. Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban says there's a reason for that – and he believes more transparency could be the solution to high healthcare costs in the United States.

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Cuban said large insurance companies make it unnecessarily difficult for doctors and hospitals to pay by burdening them with paperwork and approvals, making each application a lengthy process. This frustrates health care providers and patients who just want their bills paid without the hassle.

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Cuban's remarks were in response to a tweet by health policy expert Larry Levitt, which highlighted a comment by Senator JD Vance, who had criticized the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for “a one-size-fits-all approach that puts a lot of people in the same insurance pools, in the same risk pools, and actually makes it harder for people to make the right decisions for their families.”

Levitt explained that this single risk pool allows the ACA to protect people with pre-existing conditions from higher premiums. Cuban then expanded the discussion to the general lack of transparency in healthcare pricing and its impact on costs.

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Why transparency is important

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Although it's not a new concept, transparency in healthcare pricing is still not widespread. As with other goods and services, knowing how much a surgery or doctor's visit would cost before receiving the bill would allow customers to compare costs.

The entire industry would change if Cuban's goal of complete transparency became a reality. Providers would have to justify their often incredibly high rates if consumers could see exactly what insurers are paying. That would lead to more competition, lower prices, and a much simpler healthcare system.

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It's unclear whether Cuban's call for transparency will resonate, but it's a discussion worth having. If more people want to see the true cost of their health care, it could make insurers and providers rethink their business practices. The fight for every claim continues for now, but perhaps a more transparent future is on the horizon.

Cuban said: “If all contracts are required to be published, the market will become efficient and the cost of health care will drop significantly.”

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This article Insurance companies turn every claim into a fight, here's how Mark Cuban believes transparency could lower prices in a $1.6 trillion industry originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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