What They’re Saying: Momentum Builds for Hickenlooper’s Patients Deserve Price Tags Act

WASHINGTON - Momentum continues to grow for U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Roger Marshall's bipartisan Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, as patient advocates, economists, and lawmakers across the country call for transparency in health care.

This past week, Hickenlooper and Marshall sat down for Spotlight on America, a national award-winning investigative news franchise, to talk about their bipartisan legislation.

"Republicans like it, Democrats like it. There's a unified effort," said Hickenlooper during the interview. "The cost of health care now is so high, that I think the American people are shouting to Washington, fix this. Help us."

Hickenlooper continued: "Take the proven benefits of competition that we see out in the other marketplaces… Once that competition works, the savings will be so dramatic."

The story aired on TV stations across the country. You can watch part one HERE and part two HERE.

The bill has picked up 18 Senators from both sides of the aisle as sponsors of the legislation. In addition to Hickenlooper and Marshall, the bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Joni Ernst, Chuck Grassley, Jon Husted, Cynthia Lummis, Bernie Moreno, Markwayne Mullin, Rick Scott, Tim Sheehy, Tommy Tuberville, Tammy Baldwin, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Cory Booker, Chris Coons, Maggie Hassan, Andy Kim, and Peter Welch.

"Rising health care costs are crushing Americans. Our bipartisan bill makes health care price tags the law of the land so patients and businesses know what they're paying for in advance-a commonsense step toward a health care system that works better for American families. Let's get it across the finish line!" said Hickenlooper.

"Wisconsinites are struggling to afford their health care and we need to do everything we can to lower costs. Our health care system too often puts profits before patients, and we need to pull the curtain back and let families see the true cost of the care they are getting. I'm proud to work with Republicans and Democrats to bring basic transparency so we can foster competition and lower prices for Wisconsin families," said Baldwin.

"No patient should be forced to make uninformed decisions about their health care. As Americans continue to face rising healthcare costs, the last thing they need is confusion about their medical bills," said Blunt Rochester."I'm excited to continue building momentum around the bipartisan Patients Deserve Price Tags Act to increase transparency and affordability in our healthcare system."

"At a time when health care costs are skyrocketing, patients deserve transparency about the true cost of procedures, medications, and services to make informed decisions about their care and their family's finances," said Booker. "The Patients Deserve Price Tags Act is common-sense legislation that promotes price transparency, protects patients from overcharges, and allows them to make informed health care decisions."

"Transparency brings accountability, and it's clearly time for more transparency in health care prices. Our bipartisan legislation is a common-sense solution that will hold health care providers accountable, and it will give Americans the timely and accurate information they need to make the best decisions for them," said Grassley.

"American patients should know up front how much they are going to pay. I'm proud to support the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act to give Ohioans and all Americans greater transparency and certainty about the cost of their care," said Husted.

"Patients deserve to know costs upfront- it's that simple. By codifying these transparency requirements, we're making sure that no future administration can roll back this critical consumer protection. When families can compare prices and make informed decisions about their healthcare, it puts power back where it belongs: in the hands of patients, not bureaucrats or hospital billing departments," said Lummis.

"The days of hospitals rigging the system to hide prices from patients have to end," said Moreno. "Ohioans shouldn't need to break the bank to afford their healthcare and providers must be transparent about costs. This bill is a critical step toward putting American patients first and ensuring the system works for everyone."

40 economists sent a letter urging lawmakers to join and pass the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, stating that real healthcare price transparency is essential to lowering costs, protecting patients and workers, and saving up to $1 trillion annually.

"By requiring actual prices - a fundamental part of any functional marketplace - this bipartisan bill finally corrects the unacceptable information asymmetry that forces healthcare consumers to pay for care with the equivalent of a blank check," the economists wrote.

The Patient Rights Advocate is another supporter of this legislation and also found in a separate report that it would have savings up to $1 trillion annually.

"The Marshall/Hickenlooper Patients Deserve Price Tags Act will truly transform healthcare to greatly lower costs through consumer empowerment benefiting from price competition and prices protecting from overcharges making hospital and insurance billing be honest," said Cynthia Fisher, Founder & Chair of Patients' Rights Advocate.

In a Washington Post op-ed published January 2, physician Dr. Monique Yohanan argues that the current healthcare system hides costs and delays care for everyday patients - and that true transparency would empower families to compare options, avoid surprise bills, and finally bring accountability to healthcare pricing.

"We applaud Senators Marshall and Hickenlooper for their ongoing commitment to enhancing health care price transparency requirements that will ensure employers have access to information necessary when making decisions on benefit design for the millions of Americans who receive coverage through their employer," said ERIC President and CEO James Gelfand. "Moreover, strong transparency requirements of providers, including hospitals, and plans will empower workers and their families to select high-quality, affordable health care, drugs, and services, helping ease the ever-growing pressures health care costs have on employers and workers alike."

"Patients Deserve Price Tags Act is a critical step toward delivering high-quality care at lower costs for patients. Price transparency starts with clear, accessible information and this bill will empower patients to compare prices before they seek care. Real transparency and accountability are essential in helping unions make informed negotiations on behalf of workers and will ultimately help drive down costs. The Patients Deserve Price Tags Act moves us closer to that goal," said Kevin Lyons, Member Benefits Director for the New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association.

"At a time when health care costs are ballooning out of control and Americans continue to make clear that affordability is a top priority, we applaud Senators Marshall and Hickenlooper for introducing the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act. This robust, pro-consumer, bipartisan legislation will ensure that every family in America knows exactly how much a big hospital will charge them before they receive medical care and services,"said Sophia Tripoli, senior director for health policy at Families USA. "As long as big hospital corporations and health care systems are able to keep their prices hidden, they will continue to jack up prices year over year with no transparency or accountability from the public or lawmakers. The Patients Deserve Price Tags Act would bring much needed transparency to hospital pricing and help us hold the health care sector accountable for the unfair price gouging practices that are hurting patients and families."

When Americans go to the hospital, they often don't know what services will cost beforehand. This forces patients to rely on their insurance to pay as much as possible and negotiate rates with providers, and robs patients of the ability to shop around for a better deal. There's also a lack of transparency in agreements between insurance and providers.

The Patients Deserve Price Tags Act would create true transparency for health care pricing by requiring all negotiated rates and cash prices between plans and providers to be accessible.

Specifically, the bill would:

• Require machine-readable files of all negotiated rates and cash prices between plans and providers, not estimates.
  
• Require hospitals to post actual prices for 300 shoppable services (and for all services starting in 2026).
  
• Create a requirement for each patient to receive an Explanation of Benefits statement
  
• Require providers or facilities to include a detailed itemized bill of each distinct item or service, or an all-in total price for bundled items if offered to the patient as an option.

For full text of the legislation, click HERE.

###