[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17849]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1930
     INTRODUCTION OF THE HEALTH CARE PRICE TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2006

  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from Texas 
is recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, America has the best health care system 
in the world. That is not to say there is not some room for 
improvement. There exists, currently, a tangle of medical 
bureaucracies, and many times no one has a clear picture of what the 
problem is.
  Physicians and other providers don't get paid enough and don't get 
paid on time. Patients pay too much. Many people don't get any care at 
all, and everyone claims that someone else needs to change in order to 
fix the problem. Before we start changing things, however, it does seem 
prudent to more fully understand the problem.
  Today, I have introduced legislation with that goal in mind. This is 
another step toward true price transparency in the health care market.
  The Health Care Price Transparency Act of 2006 is a long-term 
solution to runaway medical costs. This bill calls upon the States to 
establish and maintain laws requiring disclosure of information on 
hospital charges. To make such information available to the public and 
to provide individuals with information about estimated out-of-pocket 
costs for health care services. Indeed, well over 30 States have passed 
or will soon pass their own transparency legislation, so an idea that 
is already in process.
  This legislation means that State law will require health insurance 
providers to give actual patients an actual dollar estimate of what the 
patient will pay for health care items and services within a specified 
period of time.
  Additionally, the bill calls for research on the type of cost 
information that individuals find useful in making health care 
decisions, how this information varies according to an individual's 
health insurance coverage and, if so, by what type of coverage, and 
finally, ways that information may be distributed in a timely and 
simple manner. Price, cost and quality. This is what our patients are 
asking us for, information about these three parameters, and it is 
prudent to make this information available to consumers. Simple but 
important provisions.
  The current health insurance system has insulated people from the 
actual cost of medical care that they receive. By pulling back the 
curtain on capacity in the health care market, over time, this 
legislation will lead to the development of more rational pricing, a 
more rational pricing structure from the consumer's perspective. Once 
we understand the actual cost, then we can begin to make effective 
changes, leading to fairer physician reimbursement, appropriate patient 
billing and better medical services.
  Part of the bill will deal with the rules of construction under the 
State laws. States with previously established laws that meet 
requirements are not required to change their laws. Previously 
established laws that do not meet requirements need only to change 
their laws as necessary to meet the requirements. States that currently 
have voluntary disclosure on hospital charges will still need to adopt 
laws.
  In August, President Bush issued an executive order calling for 
increased transparency within the Federal Government's health care 
agencies, a good first step. This legislation is an extension of that 
executive order, giving States the tools to become a part of the 
necessary solution for health care consumers.
  Madam Speaker, the time is short in this legislative session, but I 
believe this is legislation that the House can take up and get passed 
in short order.

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