Statement from the Alliance for Fair Health Pricing on the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act
Last week, Congress took an important step toward improving health care affordability for American families and employers. The bipartisan Lower Costs, More Transparency Act aims to address a primary driver of increasing health care costs – the high and rising prices charged by large hospital systems – by improving price transparency and advancing site-neutral payment reform. We applaud the bipartisan champions’ efforts to make health care more transparent and affordable and urge the House to pass the bill.
Price transparency is a crucial part of making health care more affordable and accessible to American patients and employers. The bill takes a meaningful step toward improving price transparency by requiring all hospitals to publicly disclose the underlying price of health care services, which a recent poll shows 87% of voters support. Additionally, the legislation includes policies that begin to address unfair hospital billing practices and the need for site-neutral provider payments where patients pay the same amount for the same services regardless of where the service is performed.
While there are other actions Congress can take to improve health care transparency and affordability, the legislation represents a critical step to address these issues. We stand ready to support bipartisan efforts to improve price transparency and address other predatory practices that lead to higher health care costs for patients, employers, and taxpayers. We urge the House to pass the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act as soon as possible and send it to the Senate for strong consideration.
Sincerely,
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Benefits Council
Arnold Ventures
The ERISA Industry Committee
Families USA
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Purchaser Business Group on Health
Small Business Majority