Arlington, VA-The American Consumer Institute (ACI) submitted comments to the Senate Finance Committee in response to its Health Coverage That Works for Everyone RFI.
While agreeing that Americans face serious problems with healthcare cost and complexity, ACI cautioned that proposals such as a public option, single payer, standardized plans, and added insurer regulation would expand government control while restricting competition and patient choice. ACI argues that making a $2,000 service cost a patient $50 at the point of care does not lower the real cost of that service, and that insurance works best for large, unpredictable expenses rather than routine, shoppable care.
ACI urges Congress to empower patients by enforcing hospital price transparency rules, expanding HSAs and shared-savings arrangements, preserving high-deductible and catastrophic coverage, and encouraging direct primary care, cash-pay imaging and laboratory services, and direct pharmaceutical purchasing.
Read ACI’s comments here.
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The American Consumer Institute is a nonprofit education and research organization.