Transparency Matrix™

The Transparency Matrix™ is TruePrice's proprietary four-tier pricing strategy. For one procedure, identified by its CPT code, it puts four prices side by side: the highest rate your plan has negotiated with an in-network provider, the lowest rate your plan has negotiated with an in-network provider, a domestic bundled cash price, and an international bundled price at an accredited hospital (medical tourism).

The in-network rates come from the machine-readable files health plans must publish under the federal Transparency in Coverage rule, so they are your plan's real contracted rates, not an average of other plans. The cash prices come from facilities that publish an all-in price for the procedure. The international prices come from JCI-accredited hospitals where care is delivered in English. When one part of a price, such as the anesthesia fee, is not published, TruePrice fills that part with an average and marks the total with an asterisk, so you always see a complete number and know which ones are partly averaged.

The takeaway: look at the spread first. The gap between the high and low in-network rate shows how much it matters where you go, even before you consider paying cash or travelling. Then compare the cash and international prices against what you would owe under your plan after your deductible and coinsurance.