Congressional price transparency bill faces implementation gaps

The Breitbart piece by Trent England, backed by the conservative group Save Our States, touts the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act (S. 2355) as a simple cure for healthcare's rising costs. The bill would require hospitals and insurers to disclose prices—building on existing CMS transparency rules finalized in 2019 and 2020. But price transparency alone has not lowered overall spending. As the American Hospital Association noted in its June 2024 comment letter, 'price transparency tools have not reduced health care costs for consumers.' The core problem is market concentration: hospitals and insurers with monopoly power can set uncompetitive rates that published prices merely document. The administration's enforcement of existing transparency rules has been inconsistent, and S. 2355 lacks teeth to mandate standardized, shoppable rates or to break up dominant provider systems. Meanwhile, healthcare inflation continues to outpace all other sectors, and patients face opaque bills even with disclosed charges. This bill would codify transparency but not address the underlying power imbalance that drives cost growth.