Time to End Dishonest Billing
THE FEDERAL SOLUTIONS:
The FAIR Act
Representatives Kevin Hern (OK-01) and Annie Kuster (NH-02) introduced the Facilitating Accountability in Reimbursements Act (FAIR Act) to harmonize billing practices in off campus hospital outpatient facilities to reflect the site of care.
Dishonest Billing In the News
TAKE ACTION!
Ways You Can Help End Dishonest Billing:
- A recent study found if hospitals simply charged the same rate for a specific set of services, it could reduce private cost-sharing and premiums by almost half a trillion dollars over the next decade.
- Addressing dishonest billing would remove one of the main financial incentives for hospital systems to buy up independent physicians’ offices, a huge step toward protecting patients from monopoly pricing.
- The AMA reports that the number of physicians employed at hospitals increased by roughly 50% between 2012 and 2020.
Dishonest Billing is Driving Up Healthcare Costs
“The introduction of this legislation is another important bipartisan milestone in the effort to address anti-competitive hospital practices that drive up healthcare prices,” said Alex Schriver, executive director of Better Solutions for Healthcare.
“This measure will end dishonest hospital billing and lower prices for employers and consumers by ensuring that patients are billed for the services they receive at the location where they receive them. This reform is one of the most important steps we can take to defend patients and consumers, and we urge lawmakers to take action this Congress.”
GREENFIELD REPORTER: Letter to the Editor: End dishonest billing in healthcare
WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Dishonest hospital billing is driving up healthcare costs
HAMILTON REPORTER OP-ED: Carmel business owner- monopolized hospital systems are major contributing factor to rapidly rising healthcare costs
INDIANA BUSINESS JOURNAL OP-ED: Dishonest billing practices add pain to small businesses
BAKERSFIELD COMMUNITY VOICES: Dishonest medical billing hurts small business and all Californians
AXIOS, 1 BIG THING: Congress Eyes "Dishonest Billing"
Dishonest billing is when a hospital secretly reclassifies a doctor’s office it owns as a hospital setting in order to charge more money.
CITY JOURNAL OP-ED: Hoosier Savings - Indiana leads the way in tackling healthcare costs
- PRESS RELEASE: Better Solutions for Healthcare Endorses Bipartisan Legislation to Crack Down on Dishonest Hospital Billing
- COVERAGE: Rep. Hern introduces legislation to curb dishonest billing practices in healthcare
THE STATE SOLUTION:
A Success Story in Indiana
Employers in Indiana rose up and demanded their legislators address hospital dishonest billing, and the Indiana Senate delivered: Legislation ending dishonest billing passed and is headed to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.
The SITE Act
Senators Mike Braun (R-IN) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced The Site-based Invoicing and Transparency Enhancement Act, bipartisan legislation to protect consumers from dishonest billing by corporate hospital systems.
- PRESS RELEASE: Better Solutions For Healthcare Endorses Bipartisan Effort in Senate to End Dishonest Hospital Billing
- COVERAGE: Third Way Statement on Recent Legislation to Lower Health Care Prices
“For too long, hospitals have gamed the system to charge patients and employers more based on the setting of care through exorbitant ‘facility fees,’” said Alex Schriver, executive director of Better Solutions.
“Ensuring fair billing practices is one of the most important things we can do right now to dramatically lower health care costs, and we applaud Sens. Braun and Hassan for introducing key site-neutral payment reforms. Momentum is clearly building in Congress around common-sense solutions to rein in corporate health systems and address the leading role they play in the healthcare affordability crisis.”