Senators introduce bipartisan bill to lower health care costs

Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., introduced the Lower Health Care Costs Act (S.1895) this week and released a section-by-section summary of the bill. American Hospital Association (AHA) Executive Vice President Tom Nickels praised lawmakers for including provisions that hold patients harmless from surprise medical bills, invest in public health, lower prescription drug costs and enhance health information technology. At the same time, he called the legislation’s reliance on a benchmark payment rate to resolve payment disputes between plans and out-of-network providers “unworkable.(AHA News story, 6/19/19)