The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions passed legislation on Wednesday to require drug providers, hospitals, and insurers to clearly disclose to patients the cost of their products.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., would also require hospitals to compile and make public the costs of their products and services on a monthly basis.
“Each hospital shall, in accordance with a method and format established by the Secretary under subparagraph (C), on a monthly basis compile and make public [without subscription and free of charge],” the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act reads.
The legislation was approved by a 21-1 vote. If enacted by the Senate, the legislation would codify President Donald Trump’s healthcare price transparency action into law and require actual upfront prices and accountability across the entire health care system.
“Patients deserve price tags, not surprise bills,” Marshall told the Daily Signal. “This is the only bipartisan health care reform before Congress today that can begin lowering the cost of living immediately by bringing real competition to our health care system.”
“Americans have waited far too long to know what their care will cost before they receive it, and I’m proud to see this commonsense legislation advance to the next stage with overwhelming bipartisan support. It’s time to put patients back in charge—not the big hospital systems and insurance companies,” Marshall continued.
As stated by the American News Majority Project, 93% of Americans want clear, upfront prices before receiving care.
David Kochel, a Republican strategist, and Andrew Bremberg, director of the Domestic Policy Council during the first Trump administration, championed the bill’s approval in statements made to the Daily Signal.
“By requiring hospitals and insurers to disclose prices upfront, the bill brings healthcare closer to a functioning free market, where providers compete for business on both price and quality,” Kochel said, adding, “competition gives consumers the information they need to make informed decisions and drive down costs.’
“Supporting this legislation sends a clear message to voters that candidates are serious about pro-affordability reforms to put more money back in Americans’ pockets,” he said.
Bremberg added that Congress has “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to codify health care price transparency by passing the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act.”
“This commonsense legislation is the strongest proposal before Congress to deliver maximum transparency, ensuring that patients receive real, upfront prices,” he continued. “As with any other sector of our economy, price tags will allow actual competition to greatly lower the cost of care and coverage for all Americans.”
Trent England, the Founder and Executive Director of Save Our States, added that the legislation would reduce hospital malpractice, such as overcharging patients.
“This is good for everyone except for a few hospital executives who directly benefit from overcharging patients,” England stated. “The Senate action is a key step towards real transparency and accountability in healthcare.”
In a statement published online, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said that this bill directly targets the negligence of hospitals.
“It [the bill] has been fought tenaciously by hospital and insurance company interests who are deeply opposed to people knowing the real price of treatments and services,” the former speaker wrote. “Their new highly deceptive strategy is to create opaque transparency. They will not tell you real prices, but they will give you a range within which prices might occur. ”
The same legislation was also introduced last year by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy. The bill, however, was never brought up for a vote.
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[ H/T The Daily Signal ]
