House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) told Breitbart News the committee will hold a hearing to explore legislative solutions to further President Donald Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan.
“As part of our Health Care Affordability Series, the Committee on Energy and Commerce is advancing policies that increase transparency for both patients and employers,” Guthrie told Breitbart News in a written statement.
“Making sure consumers and purchasers have clear information about health care prices would empower patients and create a more efficient and affordable health care ecosystem. This hearing will include discussion of a range of legislative proposals and reflects Republicans’ steadfast effort to instill real, lasting relief for Americans concerned about the cost of care.”
The Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday at 10:15 A.M. ET to build on the committee’s Health Care Affordability Series, which discussed other issues such as the prescription drug supply chain, healthcare providers and hospitals. This hearing will tackle policies relating to transparency in the healthcare sector.
The committee aims to reduce the struggle patients face when obtaining clear pricing for medical treatments and the massive costs employers face as they often cannot control healthcare spending.
Chairman Guthrie hope to find consensus that would help healthcare legislation get across the finish line.
Healthcare price transparency is a key plank of Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan.
The hearing will:
- Examine legislation to enhance transparency for health plans’ rate and payment information, services rendered in hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers (ASC), clinical laboratory tests and clinical services;
- Consider discussion drafts that require hospitals to clearly display discounted rates for common medical services and make insurance details such as overhead costs and use of prior authorization much easier for consumers to understand.
In 2023, House leaders introduced the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, bipartisan legislation that is designed to increase healthcare price transparency.
The Trump administration on Tuesday warned that more than 500 hospitals may face fines if they fail to adequately disclose prices.
In April, Breitbart News reported about how the Trump administration is working to combat inflation by enforcing healthcare price transparency.
Health and Human Service (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. noted that, as of April 1, HHS will now require hospital executives to attest that the prices they have posted are accurate.
He wrote, “If hospitals mislead patients or fail to disclose actual prices, we will hold them accountable. Transparency drives competition — and competition lowers healthcare costs for every American.”
“This Administration is focused on fighting inflation, and no one has done more to raise costs than greedy hospitals. These hospitals are posing as charities and taking millions in nonprofit tax breaks. Meanwhile, they’re upcharging Americans while their CEOs take home tens of millions of dollars each year. It’s a total scam,” one former White House official said.
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