OPINION:
Surprise medical bills are horrible. Anybody who has been stuck with a bill that they don’t expect goes through the stages of loss of money, starting with rage then acceptance while scouring their budget to find money to cover the unforeseen expenses. Thankfully, Congress and the White House are looking at a solution to the issue. They need to make sure not to pass a bad solution that does not solve the problem and makes it worse.
Market forces are the solution to the problems of soaring medical costs and surprise medical bills. Any proposal that includes price controls will not solve the problem because that will lead to distortions in the market and government-controlled pricing. When our health care system moves more toward government control and away from market forces, it causes problems with rationing and hurts access to doctors and prescription drugs. Transparency is a good idea, because that empowers consumers to know more about how much they are paying for services.
For an example of a good idea, look no further than President Donald J. Trump’s recent executive order on transparency. Politico reported on June 24, 2019, “President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order aimed at helping patients understand their medical costs up front that could force providers and insurers to open their books on secretive price negotiations.” The order mandates that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issue a rule requiring hospitals to disclose prices in a format that is easy to understand. Providers and insurers will be required to provide information about patients’ out-of-pocket expenses before they receive care. This will help to remove the sticker shock when a consumer gets a surprise bill that is far higher than they expected.
The Trump transparency idea is in stark contrast to a bad idea coming from Congress loaded with government mandates and control of the market.
A legislative proposal being vetted now that misses the mark is called the Lower Heath Care Costs Act. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) is considering draft legislation that does not increase access nor reduce prices. That legislation is in need of changes, because it will lead to price controls that will not solve the problem of surprise medical bills. Any solution that forces doctors to join a plan or for the government to set prices is the kind of government control over health care that leads to substandard care and price shifting to other areas is a bad one. Transparency is a far better way to deal with these issues.
The ERISA Industry Committee promoted a letter from a number of groups pushing for this flawed proposal. The Lower Health Care Costs Act is comprehensive legislation that includes a number of proposals, including some that will impose price controls. One provision allows drugs to be imported from Canada and a number of other proposals are nothing short of price controls on prescription drugs. Government-mandated price controls will not work and will end up leading to less innovation and limited choices for consumers. The 40 business groups that sent a letter to the HELP Committee would not want price controls on the products and services they produce, and it is hypocritical to try to use the power of government to impose price controls on others in the health care industry. This idea sounds like cronyism and the use of government to increase their own profits more so than a good faith solution to the problem.
Surprise medical bills are the worst. Congress and the administration need some good, not bad, ideas to help restore market forces and remove government distortions to markets that don’t solve the problems facing health care consumers.
• Brian Darling is former senior communications director and counsel for Sen. Rand Paul.
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