Following holiday spending, families are tightening their budgets and closely monitoring their spending. Financial households are teetering on the edge of debt. I came face-to-face with this painful economic reality due to a health scare that required multiple doctor visits. The ordeal opened my eyes to a concerning issue in the health care market that’s exacerbating high costs.
From one doctor’s office to another, I’ve seen significant price discrepancies — which I later learned are attributed to corporate acquisitions. Office consolidations are resulting in higher charges for services to patients. Shockingly, identical services can be marked up to 58% more in corporate-owned offices than in private practices.
Consolidation is on the rise, with corporate entities owning nearly 70% of physician practices in 2021. Inflated billing poses a significant threat to the well-being of countless families, as a staggering number of Americans find themselves drowning in medical bills. Something needs to change.
I urge senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman to support the Site-based Invoicing and Transparency Enhancement Act (SITE), which will address unfair billing practices by expanding “site-neutral” payments. In short, the same drug is reimbursed at the same price regardless of the kind of medical office providing it. The SITE Act has the potential to cut national health expenditures by as much as $672 billion if policies are carried over to commercial insurance. By passing the SITE, lawmakers can alleviate the added stress of medical expenses. It’s imperative we get this priority over the finish line as soon as possible.
Kiel Sigafoos, Warwick
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