OPINION:
American hospitals have operated behind a veil of secrecy for decades, sending patients and families into financial free fall with bills that defy logic and decency. “Sticker shock” doesn’t begin to describe the growing trend of outrageous and opaque hospital pricing. It’s not just wrong; it’s also un-American.
From 2000 to 2022, hospital service prices rose by more than 220%. That’s four times as fast as national inflation rates and greater than all other goods and services categories. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has increased labor costs, higher hospital service prices have outpaced other professional services in the medical sector since 2006. Now, as the Senate deliberates the reconciliation bill, eliminating hospital waste, fraud and abuse should be a part of the conversation around savings.
Today, we are proud to announce the launch of Hospital Facts, a consumer watchdog initiative of Consumer Action for a Strong Economy. Hospital Facts aims to expose hospital greed. It demands accountability and will deliver real transparency to American patients and taxpayers. We will bring you data-backed analysis and insights from free market advocates, policy experts and consumer champions who believe that hospital care should be a marketplace of informed choices, not a rigged game stacked against the very people it’s supposed to serve.
Although most conversations concerning health care costs are fixated on drug manufacturers, hospitals are one of the biggest drivers of rising health care costs and one of the largest perpetrators of waste, fraud and abuse in the American health care system.
We have all heard stories about hospitals charging $18 for a single aspirin, but hospital scam pricing goes far deeper than that. Hospitals wrongfully claim huge operating losses, regularly ding patients with junk “facility fees” and charge different amounts for the same care depending on where a patient is seen. Nonprofit hospitals are some of the worst offenders. They fail to give back to their local communities at the levels required for their tax designation, post Fortune 500-level profit margins and pay their CEOs $600,000 annually.
At CASE, we believe sunlight is the best disinfectant.
We won’t stand for consumers getting dismissive shrugs, red tape or threats from hospital lobbyists when they scrutinize hospital prices. We started Hospital Facts to provide clear, accessible and independently verified information about what hospitals are charging and what patients actually get in return. We are arming consumers with the tools to ask the right questions, shop smarter and push back on a system that too often treats them like ATMs rather than people in need of care.
This isn’t just about dollars and cents. It’s about the freedom to make informed decisions, protect your family from financial ruin after an emergency room visit and demand better from institutions that have abused the public trust for too long.
We believe the best way to fix a broken system is not with more bureaucracy but with truth, competition and accountability. If hospitals want to charge high prices, they should explain them. If they want tax breaks and nonprofit status, they should earn it by serving their communities, not bankrupting the people who live in them.
The American people are fed up, and they deserve better. With Hospital Facts, the reckoning begins. Please visit our website to see how you can get involved with the effort to hold hospitals accountable today.
• Matt Kandrach is president of Consumer Action for a Strong Economy.
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