OHIO CONSIDERS HEALTHCARE PRICE TRANSPARENCY SUMMARY
Heartland Impact Supports a Yes Vote on this Legislation
WHAT THIS BILL DOES
In 2019, President Trump issued executive order 13877 to “increase the transparency of health care price and quality information on negotiated rates and for common or shoppable items and services.” This directs hospitals to post commonly accessed services in an easily readable format as well as provide patients with access to a machine-readable comprehensive list of all charges. Hospitals can be fined if they do not comply.
In Ohio, state Rep. Ron Ferguson (R-District 96) recently introduced similar legislation. House Bill 49 would codify federal price transparency laws at the state level, while providing additional sanctions if hospitals do not follow.
If hospitals don’t properly post their pricing, Rep. Ferguson said that his bill “prohibits hospitals from referring, assigning or selling medical debt to debt collectors. It prohibits hospitals from accessing the state court system to obtain judgment for an outstanding medical debt. It prohibits hospitals from filing negative credit reports against patients for outstanding medical bills.”
OPPOSITION TO BILL
Opponents of this bill, and of price transparency in healthcare overall, state that these requirements do not lower prices, and that in some cases they can cause prices to rise. Transparency laws may cause providers to collude on healthcare pricing, potentially causing prices to rise. Opponents also allege that this information is not useful to patients, and they believe that this knowledge will not influence where patients seek care.
It is important that states are aware of the risk of prices rising, and proactively work to prevent it. The Mercatus Center’s “do no harm” call for balance and caution in applying mandated pricing would be an excellent place to start for any legislator looking to help constituents through new sunlight laws.
Although patients may not always choose medical providers based on price, it is important that they are aware of pricing.
WHY THIS BILL SHOULD PASS
Medical bills are a major contributor to financial strain on Americans. According to a 2022 report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Americans owed $88 billion in outstanding medical debt, accounting for 58 percent of all third-party debt collection. Medical debt contributes to the majority of all personal bankruptcies according to a three-year study of post Obamacare pre-pandemic years (2016 to 2019).
Bringing healthcare pricing out of the dark and making sure patients are aware is a step towards alleviating this strain.
Heartland Impact can send an expert to your state to testify or brief your caucus; host an event in your state; or send you further information on a topic. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance! If you have any questions or comments, contact Cameron Sholty, at csholty@heartlandimpact.org or 312/377- 4000.
OTHER RESOURCES
“Ohio bill would require hospitals to post prices and limit collections if they don’t” https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2023-03-03/ohio-bill-would-require-hospitals-to-post-prices-and-limit-collections-if-they-dont Jo Ingles of Statehouse News details Ohio’s new bill aimed at codifying federal transparency rules for hospitals.
“Price transparency in healthcare, apply with caution” https://www.mercatus.org/research/research-papers/price-transparency-healthcare-apply-caution Robert Graboyes and Jessica McBirney of the Mercatus Center provide a favorable and balanced approach to cost control through public pricing.
“Price transparency will lower healthcare costs” https://www.texaspolicy.com/price-transparency-will-lower-health-care-costs/embed/#?secret=Mw3kQEgje8 Kevin Roberts, Ph.D. and Brooke Rollins of the Texas Public Policy Foundation provide additional support for the need to control costs through empowering patients.
“Hospital price transparency, feds suggest more aggressive steps could be coming” https://www.chiefhealthcareexecutive.com/view/hospital-price-transparency-feds-suggest-more-aggressive-steps-could-be-coming Ron Southwick writes in Chief Healthcare Executive about the possibility of tougher sanctions for hospitals who don’t comply with transparency laws.
“Hospital price transparency: progress and commitment to achieving its potential” https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/hospital-price-transparency-progress-and-commitment-achieving-its-potential Meena Seshamani and Douglas Jacobs provide robust support for transparency in medicine for Health Affairs
“Medical bankruptcy still common despite the Affordable care Act” https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304901 The American Public Health Association details the prevalence of financial problems and bankruptcy for those with hospital debt.
“Medical debt burden in the United States” https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_medical-debt-burden-in-the-united-states_report_2022-03.pdf Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Comprehensive review of indebtedness and financial impacts on US patients.
