(THE CENTER SQUARE) – Two Ohio lawmakers say hospitals across the state continue to fail at pricing transparency and believe their new proposed law would both change that and reduce health care costs.
Reps. Ron Ferguson (R-Wintersville) and Tim Barhorst (R-Fort Loramie), introduced legislation that would bring long-time federal rules into Ohio law to allow for greater enforcement, the two said in a news release.
“This bill will empower consumers to make informed decisions about their health care,” Ferguson said. “By codifying and enforcing existing federal laws, we hope to lower costs for hardworking Ohioans.”
The federal rules regarding hospital price transparency have been in place since the Obama administration, but the two said they believe a majority of hospitals are not in compliance.
In addition to making those rules law in Ohio, the proposed legislation would prohibit hospitals not in compliance from referring assigning or selling medical debt to debt collectors.
Those hospitals would also be prohibited from going to court to get a judgment for outstanding medical debt or filing negative credit reports against patients for outstanding medical bills.
“We have to take these steps to ensure Ohioans not only have control over their health care options but to ensure the health care system in Ohio is in lockstep with federal law and Medicare rules,” Barhorst said. “Our hope is to alleviate problems towards the unknown cost of health care and give people the transparency they deserve.”
