Although it is much easier to support transparency when someone else is doing the heavy lifting, it is only truly effective when all stakeholders share the burden. "The reality is that it's everyone's responsibility," according to Dennis Charland, senior vice president of sales for Zelis.

Charland moderated "Price Transparency Collaboration," a panel discussion during the Self-Insurance Institute of America's (SIIA) Price Transparency Forum in late February.

"I don't disagree with the intent of transparency," said Kelly Wage, vice president for consumer experience and market solutions for Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina. "The good news for us is that we already had a client transparency tool. However, filling all of these new files and getting it to a third-party vendor was complicated. It is kind of like Whac-A-Mole. It's been really complex to implement."