June 25, 2019
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
Re: Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to put Patients First
Dear President Trump,
On behalf of the 1.9 million members of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC), I am writing in support of the Executive Order “Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to put Patients First.”
This executive order will require hospitals to publish service prices publicly, creating more transparency for consumers. Seniors often encounter widely different prices, oftentimes for the same services due to lack of transparency. Currently, these rates are almost impossible for seniors to obtain which forces them to accept care with no idea how much the services will end up costing them. Seniors are also left in the dark on if and where they could obtain the services cheaper.
The order, which Health and Human Services (HHS) will be implementing, will improve consumer incentives to shop for care. Under the order, HHS will also require hospitals to provide new information to providers and researchers which will help them develop ways to cut costs. Taken together, the “Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to put Patients First” order will put a crack in the current secretive pricing system and help seniors seek out the best and most affordable care.
Importantly, the order helps keep up the momentum in Congress for bipartisan reforms aimed at providing transparency in healthcare costs. Healthcare costs remain a top concern for Americans. According to a Kaiser poll last year, 67 percent of those polled were worried about unexpected medical bills. Compare that to 41 percent who worried about paying their rent or mortgage and it is clear how important transparency in healthcare costs are to the American public.
As an organization committed to representing seniors, AMAC remains dedicated to ensuring senior citizens’ interests are protected. We strongly support this executive order and ask you to consider supporting additional reforms to help improve healthcare in America. Please find attached more information about AMAC and a list of proposed policy changes that would help seniors. 1) the Physician Pro Bono Care Act 2) the Social Security Guarantee 3) the Social Security Plus retirement savings plan.
Thank you for providing more transparency and accountability from hospitals through this Executive Order. Our members and staff stand in favor of transparency in healthcare costs and ready to work with you on AMAC’s positive solutions to further reduce the cost of healthcare.
Sincerely,
Dan Weber
Founder and President,
Association of Mature American Citizens
Where are the 3 proposed policy changes alluded to in the above letter?
Sounds like a great plan for limiting drug company profits. What’s next, Medicare For All?
I didn’t realize the C in AMAC stood for “Communism.”
Huh?