In a world rife with hyperbole, it is shockingly, depressingly accurate to observe that our country has an “affordability crisis” in healthcare; Americans currently hold more than $220 billion in outstanding medical debt, the average family of four shells out more than $32,000 a year for it, and, collectively, we all spend $5 trillion. So, it’s easy and right to applaud the U.S. Congress for its stated determination – regularly expressed over many years, and certainly this year — to determine why we’re in a crisis, and how we might solve it. Compelling data says hospital reform holds the key.
Last week’s joint House Energy and Commerce and House Ways and Means hearing was, reportedly, the first of five in a series, and seemed a good-faith effort. What follows are several suggested questions and areas of examination for the remaining four sessions.
If American hospitals account for fully a third — more than $1.5 trillion — in annual U.S. healthcare spending, why are they so often crowded, and feature longer wait times and shorter doctor-patient interactions?
More importantly, why has hospital “care” been so thoroughly degraded over the years? Not just relative to the American “standard,” but also to every other developed country on the planet?
Why has hospital pricing exploded — a 270 percent increase that eclipses even our extreme national inflation, and the growth of our entire economy — over the past 25 years? And, most importantly, how are Americans, especially the seniors among us on fixed incomes, supposed to survive when our health care expenses have risen at a far faster rate than our retirement savings, Social Security benefits, or cost-of-living adjustments?
Why are American hospitals allowed to flout the law? Specifically, why do they persist in ignoring federal transparency pricing statutes, as nearly 80 percent of them currently do? Price transparency is not only required, but obviously beneficial to patients and uniformly popular among all Americans…with the exception of hospital executives who seem perfectly willing to choose profits over patients.
Why is it common for hospitals to charge poor people more for the drugs they themselves have received at cost?
Recommended
Why have several hospitals stashed billions of federal grants in their general funds, even after soliciting them precisely for the benefit of the needy?
Why is it acceptable that seniors are routinely charged wildly different amounts in hospitals for the exact same procedures, regardless of outcome, and based solely on their geographic location?
As large and opaque as most hospital bills are, how can they still manage to feature surprise and phantom items too?
It was recently proven conclusively that private equity had achieved a 13 percent increase in death after investing over a trillion dollars in just a decade, “targeting hospitals, physician practices, and specialty providers.” Beyond the monstrous “Return on Investment,” this ongoing practice jettisons full time employees by an average of 11.6 percent, and results in a decline in salary expenditures in emergency departments and intensive care units by 18 percent and 16 percent, respectively, leading NBC News to wryly observe: this “adds fresh evidence to previous studies showing harmful patient outcomes and higher costs among health care entities owned by profit-oriented financiers.” Why has Congress allowed this to continue unabated?
Finally (though only for space constraints), why has a “consolidation crisis” of American hospitals been allowed to proliferate so aggressively over the years, when patient concerns are secondary?
The estimated 1,887 hospital mergers between 1998 and 2021, and 72 announced nationwide in 2024 alone, are responsible for creating “mega hospitals” that reduce and distort competition, handing larger systems the power to dictate pricing over insurers, and hence, patients and taxpayers.
Americans, and especially seniors, have suffered the loss of medical care precisely when they need it the most, facing higher Medicare cost-sharing, rising Medigap premiums, and increased out-of-pocket expenses.
These are just a few of the many pressing topics Congress must explore if it truly wishes to alleviate the affordability crisis in U.S. healthcare. Americans remain desperate for their elected “leaders” to do so.
Paul Teller is President of Teller Strategies. Teller served all four years in the first Trump Administration, was Senator Ted Cruz’s chief of staff, worked for U.S. House conservatives for 13 years, and helped found and grow Vice President Mike Pence’s issue advocacy organization.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy Townhall’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member