03.04.2024 / Statement

Families USA: Congress may stave off yet another government shutdown crisis, but fails to prioritize health care affordability, putting families’ health and wallets in danger

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yael Lehmann, interim executive director of Families USA, issued the following statement expressing disappointment with Congress omitting essential health care priorities – including price transparency, site neutral payments and lowering drug prices – from the government funding and health extenders package.

“Congress dropped the ball when they could have had a slam dunk for families’ health and wallets. At a time when health care costs are ballooning out of control, lawmakers had an opportunity to put aside politics and reject the greed of corporate hospitals who want the green light to secretly set any price for their health care services, whether those prices are warranted or not, and keep their pricing practices hidden at the expense of the health and financial security of our families.

“As Families USA lays out in our new analysis, “The Weight of High Hospital prices is Keeping American Workers Underwater” large health care corporations and their corporate pricing abuses are a hidden driver of wage stagnation and income inequality. The report indicates that low- and middle-income American workers – especially people of color – could lose nearly $20,000 in future wage gains over the next decade if policymakers do not take action to rein in high and rising hospital prices that cause health insurance premiums to surge. Despite overwhelming bipartisan support for policies that would begin to crack down on behaviors that contribute to this rising inequality by strengthening health care price transparency and ensuring that consumers pay the same price for the same service regardless of location, Congress has failed to deliver for the American people.

“While we appreciate that Congress is likely to avoid a damaging and disruptive lapse in government funding and the bill takes steps to increase funding for key programs like WIC nutrition assistance for women, infants, and children and our nation’s community health centers, we are also concerned that this package fails to provide sustainable, long-term funding for these critical health care providers. So while large health care corporations will continue to be able to price gouge consumers, safety net providers and the communities they serve are left with uncertainty around how they will operate past December.

“Members from both sides of the aisle have previously championed and worked in bipartisan fashion on policies to improve price transparency and end payment and pricing abuses that lead to unaffordable and inequitable health care. We urge Congress to rise above partisan politics and build on this momentum to get the job done for families now.”