U.S. Representative Dan Lipinski (IL-3) issued the following announcement on March 2.
Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-03) last week introduced legislation designed to bring transparency to medical pricing and give patients and others information about the quality and value of health services. Lipinski’s legislation, the Transparency and Accountability in Health Care Costs and Prices Act of 2020 (H.R. 6004), would empower more states to establish, maintain, or expand All-Payer Claims Databases (APCDs), which provide a single location for statewide data on relevant health claims. Some past successful state APCDs have been used to create price comparison tools for patients. Other APCDs helped policymakers who oversee insurance companies to keep premium growth in check. More transparency in healthcare can empower patients to advocate for themselves and ensure that they are receiving the highest quality care at the most reasonable price available. Transparency also helps the public and policymakers advocate for solutions based on real, comprehensive evidence to bring down health costs and make our healthcare system less complex.
“There is much work to be done to lower the costs of health care in this country, but this legislation is a step in the right direction,” said Congressman Lipinski. “The Transparency and Accountability in Health Care Costs and Prices Act would give more states the tools they need to allow patients to hold medical service providers accountable and empower them with the information they need to push back against unfair medical prices. But more transparency is good not only for individual patients, but the general public and policymakers as well. More transparency can help every participant in our healthcare system – including patients, referring providers, health plans, and policymakers – understand and push for lower health costs in an informed way.”
H.R. 6004 would authorize $100 million in funding to help states establish, maintain, or expand APCDs, which would generate real, comprehensive data that can be used to encourage competition and drive down skyrocketing health care prices. The legislation would also overturn the 2016 Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company decision that has limited states from fully implementing these cost-saving measures. The data in APCDs would not only provide greater transparency for patients, it would give state and federal lawmakers access to vital information to assist with health reform efforts.
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