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Members of the House Education and Workforce Committee voted 34-0 Wednesday to back a bill that could help reduce what employer-sponsored health plans pay for care delivered in clinics or medical offices that happen to be owned by hospitals.
The Transparency in Billing Act bill would require a hospital to use separate identifiers for care provided in a hospital-level facility and care provided in other locations.
Hospitals say they need to charge facility fees to pay for the many enormous costs associated with providing high-tech care around the clock, in all kinds of weather conditions, but employers and researchers say hospital-owned health care systems are acquiring medical practices partly to get a chance to add hospital facility fees to bills for services provided in ordinary medical offices.
Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Mich., said during discussion of the bill that enacting and implementing the bill would save workers from "predatory pricing practices."
"You should pay for the care you receive, not inflated charges," Walberg said.
The committee reviewed the bill at a "markup" meeting with an agenda that included five separate bills.
The committee held the markup in Washington, streamed video of the meeting live and posted a recording on the web.
What it means: Odds that Congress could require hospitals to use separate identifiers for services provided through ordinary clinics and medical offices appear to be high.
Legislative mechanics: The facility-fee bill was introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and Rep. Robert Scott, D-Va.
Foxx is chair of the House Rules Committee, which prepares bills for action on the House floor.
Scott is the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee.
The House Education and Workforce Committee is the only House committee with jurisdiction over the bill.
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