Third-party payments can raise overall health care system costs, leading to higher premiums for consumers and further destabilization of the individual market.
Conflicts between providers’ financial interests and patients’ interests has led providers to inappropriately steer patients toward certain coverage in a way that could put patients’ lives and well-being at risk.
Recommendations HHS can take to help protect patients include prohibiting third-party provider payments to entities in which the provider has financial interests, clarifying existing guidance, not expanding the list of third-party payers, and increasing transparency for these payments.