Fix high hospital costs or we will act, Indiana legislators warn healthcare systems

Indiana lawmakers have inserted themselves into the ongoing conversation over health care prices in the state, which are among the highest in the nation, asking hospital and insurance leaders to work together to develop a plan to lower the cost of medical care.

Saying that they have the “utmost respect” for health care workers, Senate President Rodric Bray and Speaker of the House Todd Huston direct about 20 letter recipients to work together to match Indiana’s health care costs to the national average by 2025. The legislative leaders say if the letter’s recipients have not come up with a viable plan by April, they will have “no choice but to pursue legislation to statutorily reduce prices.”

Indiana’s high cost of care has been a subject of debate for years. About five years ago the Employers’ Forum of Indiana commissioned a study on outpatient care that revealed prices here are comparatively high. A follow-up study found that hospital prices far outstrip those in other states.

Recently the state’s largest health care system, Indiana University Health, announced plans to freeze prices to come in line with the national average in three years.

Read more: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2022/01/24/reduce-healthcare-costs-indiana-hospitals-lawmakers-tell-health-care-industry-find-way/6565517001/