Transparency for medical services would allow Wisconsinites to compare prices, increase competition, and lower cost of health care
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) joined the bipartisan Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, a bill to make health care costs more transparent. The bill requires providers to publish the costs of services so Americans understand what a specific visit or procedure will cost, allowing families the opportunity to compare prices, driving competition, and lowering costs.
“Wisconsinites are struggling to afford their health care and we need to do everything we can to lower costs. Our health care system too often puts profits before patients, and we need to pull the curtain back and let families see the true cost of the care they are getting,” said Senator Baldwin. “I’m proud to work with Republicans and Democrats to bring basic transparency so we can foster competition and lower prices for Wisconsin families.”
When Americans go to the hospital, they often don’t know what services will cost beforehand. This forces patients to rely on their insurance to pay as much as possible and negotiate rates with providers, robbing patients of the ability to shop around for a better deal. Agreements between insurers and providers also lack transparency.
The Patients Deserve Price Tags Act would create true transparency for health care pricing by requiring all negotiated rates and cash prices between plans and providers to be accessible.
Specifically, the bill would:
- Require machine-readable files of all negotiated rates and cash prices between plans and providers, not estimates.
- Require hospitals to post actual prices for 300 shoppable services (and for all services starting in 2026).
- Create a requirement for each patient to receive an Explanation of Benefits statement
- Require providers or facilities to include a detailed itemized bill of each distinct item or service, or an all-in total price for bundled items if offered to the patient as an option.
This legislation is led by Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO).
Full text of this legislation is available here.
An online version of this release is available here.
