WASHINGTON, DC – The Ways and Means Committee approved the Health Care Price Transparency Act of 2023 (H.R. 4822) to bring more transparency to America’s health care system. Hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, imaging providers, and clinical labs will all now be required to publish the actual price for their services, giving patients confidence they are receiving the care they need at a price they can afford and giving providers an incentive to lower prices through competition. This legislation also includes key measures to lower the cost of medications for seniors and ensures those on Medicare Advantage receive timely access to medical services by reforming the prior authorization process.

As America’s medical system becomes increasingly consolidated, the legislation takes meaningful steps to ensure vertically integrated health insurers are directing care that benefits the patient – not their bottom line.

During the markup, Chairman Smith highlighted how the Committee’s actions help patients navigate the medical system by making prices transparent and shining a light on medical corporations to ensure they act in a patient’s best interest:

“The Health Care Price Transparency Act of 2023 is a win for patients who deserve to know the actual price they will pay before they go see the doctor, fill a prescription, or get an x-ray. Families should not have to live at the mercy of large medical corporations who are too ashamed to list their prices publicly. This bill is about bringing honesty and clarity to the cost of health care.”

The Committee also approved the Providers and Payers COMPETE Act (H.R. 3284) which requires the Department of Health and Human Services to examine how Medicare payment rules may affect health care consolidation.

The markup follows Committee hearings exploring the need for greater health care price transparency and ways to address health care consolidation. At the hearings, small business owners, medical providers, and health care experts testified about how price transparency is proven to lower costs for patients, but more enforcement and accountability is needed.

SECTION BY SECTION: Health Care Price Transparency Act of 2023

HEARING WRAPUP: Six Key Moments from Ways and Means Committee Hearing on Health Care Price Transparency