Self-interest disguised as condescension

There's been an increasing drumbeat for the disclosure of health care prices. The Washingon Post published an article that discusses the failure of a state legislature to create an all-payer claims database that would help consumers compare health care prices. The main opponent? The state's largest private insurer, Premera. An earlier article noted "a broad coalition" that included big businesses such as Boeing.

What was Premera's response? Executives were reported to have indicated that they "favor transparency" but doubt "the usefulness of the all-payer claims database if it's not coupled with information about what consumers would actually pay under their insurance plans... 'We have not seen evidence they're ready for that level of shopping.'" Premera executives are essentially saying that they can't possibly imagine how this data could be useful, and that consumers can't handle this level of sophisticated shopping. Their words underestimate consumers. Much more likely, though, the executives floated those lines so they wouldn't have to address the real reason behind their reluctance to support transparency for the larger population (which the article discusses).