A parental rights group vowed to “hold Congress accountable” if it continued its “lack of action” on health care price transparency, in a Thursday letter sent to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
American Parents Coalition (APC) Executive Director Alleigh Marré wrote in the letter, first obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, that “mothers and fathers across America are paying attention, and they will hold Congress accountable for lack of action on policies that can help families take control of their health and financial futures.” She added that health care transparency is not an “abstract” issue, “but rather a daily challenge for families across America who struggle to keep their children healthy while managing household budgets.”
“Passing robust transparency reforms will not only build trust in our healthcare system but will also demonstrate that Congress is listening to the real needs of families,” Marré wrote.
“Families are often forced to make decisions about their children’s health without knowing what care will actually cost,” Marré told the DCNF in a statement. “Parents should not have to sign a blank check because hospitals and insurance companies refuse to share prices in advance. When families must make major financial choices in the dark, it is nearly impossible to budget, and many end up skipping preventive care, or any care at all.”
“As the Senate takes up healthcare legislation this session, lawmakers can and should include real transparency reforms that give parents clear prices, greater certainty, and more control. Parents deserve to know the real cost of care before their child sees a provider,” she continued in her statement to the DCNF.
Marré also asserted in her letter that American parents desire “clear, accurate, and actionable pricing information before care is provided so they can make informed decisions in the best interests of their families.”
APC’s letter also urged both senators to “ensure” that any healthcare markup during this session “requires standardized, upfront disclosure of real prices (not estimates) for services and out-of-pocket costs before care is delivered,” boosts “compliance and enforcement to ensure providers and insurers deliver prices parents can actually use” and broadenstransparency requirements to include “shoppable services such as imaging, labs, delivery and outpatient care,” according to the letter.
Marré wrote further that “having real prices upfront and before care” would help to empower parents to budget more effectively, avoid facing “crippling medical debt” and be able to plan for “emergencies, routine care and preventive services without fear of hidden costs and the ability to hold hospitals accountable.”
Health care price transparency has emerged as a practical policy tool that can help bolster competition, bring down health care-related costs across the nation and expand access to affordable and high-quality care, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Many U.S. households have been facing increased financial pressure from climbing health care costs in recent years. A West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America survey released on March 12 found that among Americans who do not currently have health insurance, 62% said they have made at least one sacrifice to ensure they can afford health care, which includes 32% who have been forced to borrow money and 24% who have prolonged medication.
Republican Virginia Rep. Morgan Griffith, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Health, stated during a Wednesday hearing on improving the nation’s health care affordability that many Americans “are left navigating complex, and often expensive, medical bills—whether from a hospital visit or routine appointment—that they did not anticipate, cannot easily afford, and sometimes only learn about weeks or months after receiving care.”
Additionally, President Donald Trump announced in January a “broad healthcare initiative” aiming to lower prescription drug prices, reduce insurance premiums, hold major insurance companies “accountable” and also “maximize price transparency” in the U.S. health care system.
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