[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8278]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1410
               PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY IN HEALTH CARE PRICES

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, the current health insurance system has 
essentially insulated people from the actual cost of medical care that 
they receive. But maybe, by pulling back the curtain on these opaque 
areas of the health care market, over time we could lead to the 
development of a more rational pricing structure, at least from the 
consumers' perspective.
  Once we understand the actual cost, then we can begin to make 
effective changes, leading to fair physician reimbursement, appropriate 
patient billing, and better medical services.
  To that end, the Health Care Price Transparency Act of 2012, H.R. 
5800, is bipartisan legislation that is a long-term solution to runaway 
medical costs. The bill calls upon States to establish and maintain 
laws requiring a disclosure of information on hospital charges. This 
means that State law will require health insurance providers to give 
patients an actual dollar estimate of what the patient must pay for 
health care items and services within a specified period of time.
  It's commonsense legislation. It's far past time for us to do it. I 
encourage Members to join me in cosponsoring H.R. 5800. Let's get it 
done.

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