To lower overall costs for patients and employers, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) recently offered comprehensive legislation that aims to promote price transparency in America’s healthcare sector and lower the cost of prescription drugs.
“I am grateful to my colleagues for coming together on this important bill and look forward to delivering this win for the American people,” Rep. McMorris Rodgers said last week.
The Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, H.R. 5378, which Rep. McMorris Rodgers sponsored alongside three original cosponsors, including U.S. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), aims to ensure that patients are provided with accurate and timely information about the cost of healthcare procedures and services, according to a bill summary provided by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is chaired by Rep. McMorris Rodgers.
“Our bipartisan legislation meets this moment by giving patients what they are rightfully demanding: the ability to get the right care, at the right time, at a price they know and can afford,” said Rep. McMorris Rodgers. “It will lower costs by giving patients the healthcare price information they need to make the decisions that are best for them and their families — something 95 percent of Americans support.”
If enacted, sections in the 231-page H.R. 5378 would increase price transparency throughout the healthcare system for patients; address the cost of prescription drugs; and support patients, healthcare workers, community health centers, and hospitals, according to the bill summary.
For instance, provisions to increase price transparency would require healthcare price information from hospitals, insurance companies, labs, imaging providers, and ambulatory surgical centers to publicly list the prices they charge patients, the summary says, and require health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers to disclose negotiated drug rebates and discounts to reveal the true costs of prescription drugs.
Regarding the cost of prescription drugs, H.R. 5378 would lower out-of-pocket costs for senior citizens who receive medication at a hospital-owned outpatient facility or doctor’s office and expand access to more affordable generic drugs, among other provisions.
And to support patients, healthcare workers, community health centers (CHCs), and hospitals, H.R. 5378 would fully fund CHCs, support training programs for new doctors in communities, and preserve Medicaid funding for hospitals that take care of uninsured and low-income patients, among other provisions in the bill.
“This bill represents what our committees do at their best: work together to deliver bipartisan results for the American people,” said Rep. Pallone. “I’m grateful to my colleagues for partnering with me to strengthen the bill. I look forward to continuing to work together to advance the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act and see it signed into law.”