Health Subcommittee Scrutinizes Patient Affordability, Competition, and Access Across the U.S. Provider Landscape
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, led a hearing titled Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of the U.S. Provider Landscape . During the hearing, we heard members express their concerns with how hospital consolidation and lack of price transparency drive up costs for American patients. “When provider markets lack competition and transparency, prices can rise without patients having the information needed to make cost-conscious decisions,” said Chairman Griffith. “Today, we heard from different organizations that represent health care providers across a variety of settings, so that we can continue to look for solutions that make delivering and receiving care more affordable.” Watch the full hearing here . Below are key excerpts from today’s hearing: Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01): “ Today’s hearing is critically important because every policy discussion [involves] real patients—employers trying to provide health insurance, families trying to afford care, seniors managing chronic conditions, and providers working to keep their doors open in increasingly complex systems. Over the past decade or so, we’ve seen significant consolidation across the health care system—especially after the passage of the Unaffordable Care Act—and particularly among hospitals and large health systems. At the same time, Medicare physician reimbursement has declined by over 30 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars since 2001. If we continue on the current path, we’re not just cutting payments, we are cutting access. In rural Iowa, we don’t have an excess of providers. When one closes, patients have to drive hours for care. A 2 percent to 3 percent cut in Washington can mean the difference between staying open and shutting down in a small town.” Congressman Cliff Bentz (OR-02): “It almost seems as though the [physician] shortage gives people an excuse to raise prices. Is that the truth?” Dr. DiGiorgio: “I agree.” Congressman Bentz: “We’ve heard that in other conversations with various groups. And by the way, the remarks about larger systems resulting in higher quality care at less cost, I have to beg to differ. At least in previous conversations, it appeared that there was a focus on those types of things, while ignoring the amount of money being made on the float by delaying care. I asked that question of UnitedHealthcare when they were here. It was discouraging to hear how many billions of dollars are being made on the float, I must say. And that appears to be something we should be focusing upon.” Congresswoman Erin Houchin (IN-09): “This is the third hearing we’ve had on affordability. I think it may be the most consequential because the provider landscape is where these issues meet real patients. Doctor Aizuss, in your testimony, you note that practice costs rose roughly 63 percent over the same period that Medicare physician payments declined by roughly 33 percent, putting an increasing strain on independent practices and threatening patients’ access to care—particularly in rural parts of the country. From your perspective, how is this sustained gap affecting patients’ ability to access timely, quality care? What specific actions should Congress take to stabilize physician practices and prevent further disruptions?” Dr. Aizuss: “As I’ve noted, the decrease in real payment for Medicare services is accelerating independent physicians to close their offices or to sell their practices to private equity or to be employed by large systems. So, the access is definitely impacted by that. People in their own communities can’t access the private practice physician when they want to. And wait times are increasing significantly. The biggest solution, as I keep emphasizing, is having Medicare payment reform tied to the medical economic index with automatic inflationary updates—just like the other providers are receiving.” ###