Better Solutions for Healthcare Endorses Bipartisan Legislation to Crack Down on Dishonest Hospital Billing
WASHINGTON, DC – (May 24, 2023) – Better Solutions for Healthcare, a national coalition of business and healthcare industry leaders, announced its official endorsement of bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Kevin Hern (R-OK) and Annie Kuster (D-NH) to ensure honest billing practices by hospitals and address the healthcare affordability crisis. The legislation comes amid a wave of scrutiny on hospital practices from Congress that has included multiple hearings and bill introductions just this spring alone. Last week, Better Solutions released polling that shows voters are fed up with corporate hospital systems over unreasonable and alarming price markups that are making health care unaffordable.
“The introduction of this legislation is another important bipartisan milestone in the effort to address anti-competitive hospital practices that drive up healthcare prices,” said Alex Schriver, executive director of Better Solutions for Healthcare. “This measure will end dishonest hospital billing and lower prices for employers and consumers by ensuring that patients are billed for the services they receive at the location where they receive them. This reform is one of the most important steps we can take to defend patients and consumers, and we urge lawmakers to take action this Congress.”
Earlier this month, the coalition endorsed bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate–the Healthy Competition for Better Care Act–to increase transparency in hospitals and health systems.
Ensuring honest billing practices by hospitals is one of four main policy priorities for the Better Solutions coalition. Other areas of emphasis include promoting hospital competition, reining in hospital price markups, and enforcing federal price transparency for hospital charges. The coalition also supports broader reforms to promote site-neutral payment policies.
ABOUT BETTER SOLUTIONS
Better Solutions for Healthcare is a coalition focused on educating consumers, employers, and lawmakers on the rising cost of healthcare and providing ideas on working together to find better solutions that lower healthcare costs for all Americans. National employer groups that have joined Better Solutions include American Benefits Council, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, Public Sector HealthCare Roundtable and Business Group on Health. The coalition also includes AHIP and BlueCross BlueShield Association.
For more information on Better Solutions for Healthcare, please visit the website or follow the campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.