To: Members of the House Ways and Means Committee
From: National Taxpayers Union
Date: July 15, 2026
Subject: NTU’s views on the July 15 Markup
I. Introduction
On behalf of National Taxpayers Union, the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, we write to express our views on legislation slated for consideration before the House Committee on Ways and Means on July 15, 2026. While NTU recognizes that the Committee is considering a broader package of legislative proposals, we would like to highlight three bills that warrant special attention. NTU applauds the Committee for your continued efforts to advance proposals that protect the interests of taxpayers and uphold free-market principles.
II. Legislation
H.R. 9645, the Health Care Price Certainty for All Americans Act - Support
Sponsored by Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO), this legislation brings much-needed transparency to America’s opaque health care system by requiring providers and insurers to disclose accurate pricing information to patients and employers. Just like in any other market, price signals help allocate scarce resources, and any serious effort to rein in the growth of health care spending needs to focus on making prices clear and accessible. Moreover, this legislation’s focus on hospitals and insurance companies targets the key drivers of spending in recent years. Between 2022 and 2024, spending on hospital care accounted for 40% of the overall growth in national health expenditures. In 2024, private health insurance spending reached $1.64 trillion, which accounted for roughly 31% of overall health care expenditures. Enhancing price transparency in these sectors is vital for ensuring the health care marketplace promotes value for patients and taxpayers.
H.R. 9644, the Medicare Advantage MLR Transparency Act - Support
Sponsored by Representative Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), this legislation shines a light on how Medicare Advantage spends taxpayer dollars by requiring participating insurance companies to submit more detailed revenue and spending information to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Limited visibility into how the program operates has opened the door to widespread abuse in recent years. Known as “upcoding,” insurance companies have figured out they can boost their profits by exaggerating patient diagnoses to maximize payments from Medicare. With more than half of Medicare’s beneficiaries now enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, even small payment distortions carry profound fiscal consequences. In 2025 alone, the government spent an estimated $84 billion more on Medicare Advantage beneficiaries than it would have if those same seniors were enrolled in the traditional Medicare program. Taxpayers and seniors stand to benefit from increased transparency into this program.
H.R. 9468, the Saving Today’s Acute-Care Resources Act (STAR) Act - Support
Sponsored by Representative Kevin Hern (R-OK), this legislation modernizes Medicare by removing requirements that unnecessarily delay access to long-term care hospitals (LTCH) for very sick seniors. Under current law, seniors must satisfy arbitrary hospitalization requirements, such as extended stays in the intensive care unit, before being able to access the specialized care they need. Furthermore, this legislation would allow seniors receiving treatment in critical access hospitals (CAHs) to be directly admitted to a LTCH without needing to spend additional time in a standard hospital. In addition to being a win for patients, limiting the duration of expensive hospital stays for seniors and getting them more streamlined access to the care they need is an emphatic win for taxpayers.
III. Conclusion
Taxpayers have a compelling interest in controlling the growth of federal health care spending, and increased transparency can help health care markets function properly for patients and taxpayers alike. Should you have any questions about the recommendations in this memo, please do not hesitate to reach out to Alexander Ciccone (aciccone@ntu.org).