Hospital patients are being hit with thousands of dollars in “surprise bills,” but Congress shouldn’t make matters worse with bad legislation. This includes provisions contained in the Lower Health Care Costs Act (S. 1895), and the No Surprises Act (H.R. 3630), sections of which would effectively introduce new, additional price controls into the health care system. Federal benchmarks, out-of-network caps, or rate-setting are all solutions that lead to more government control over who gets health care and who pays for it. That’s a single-payer system in disguise.
Washington shouldn’t interfere with price controls that make doctor and hospital services scarcer. Also, price controls shift costs to others leaving taxpayers on the hook.