Lower Costs, More Transparency Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act empowers patients and will lower healthcare costs for millions of Americans.

This bipartisan bill has been a collaborative effort, and I thank my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Education and the Workforce Committee for their partnership.

American families have struggled for far too long to afford the cost of their healthcare. What is worse is they have been unable to anticipate those costs because our current system makes it nearly impossible to figure out the actual price for almost any type of treatment, medicine, drug, or procedure.

The legislation before us would ensure timely and accurate details about the cost of care, treatments, and services are available and accessible before a patient goes into the doctor's office or hospital.

Hospitals, insurance companies, labs, imaging providers, and others would be required to publicly disclose their prices, creating incentives to lower prices across the board. This bill would increase access to care by combating healthcare consolidation, which reduces options and drives up costs.

It also would take an important step to address the soaring costs of prescription drugs by requiring health insurers and PBM middlemen to disclose negotiated drug rebates and discounts. It would ease the financial burden on our seniors, widen access to more affordable generic drugs, and arm employers with vital drug price information.

This bill would make important investments in training programs for new doctors to help address the healthcare workforce shortage and further invest in hospitals that serve high Medicaid populations.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill to deliver a healthcare system that is more accessible and affordable for the American people.

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