All Pennsylvanians deserve fair pricing for health care services. I plan to introduce legislation that would prohibit health care providers from charging facility fees for applicable services, including certain outpatient services and services provided at an off-campus facility. My bill would also create a “site-neutral” payment cap by limiting the amount health care providers can charge for applicable services to the lesser of 150% of the price paid by Medicare or the negotiated rate for the patient’s insurance.
 
Hospital networks are increasingly charging “facility fees” for outpatient services, forcing patients to pay fees that may be in the hundreds of dollars for routine care provided in a hospital or hospital-owned facility compared to the same care provided in a physician’s office. Especially as the health care market continues to consolidate, more and more consumers are seeing these unexpected fees.
 
While facility fees increase out-of-pocket expenses and premiums for patients, they are not directly correlated with improved quality of care. At a time when half of Americans report difficulty paying health care bills, we must protect consumers from unnecessary medical expenses.
 
Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation to lower health care costs and ensure that patients are not needlessly charged more for the same health care service.