Congress recently hauled CEOs from some of the nation’s largest hospital systems to Capitol Hill to answer for America’s soaring healthcare costs. And lawmakers didn’t pull their punches.
House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., accused hospitals of building “empires” and told executives that the prices they charge patients amount to “borderline extortion.”
The hearing underscored a reality Washington has been slow to confront. Hospitals are the primary drivers of rising health costs. They are consolidating markets, exploiting federal programs and using their growing leverage to raise prices for patients and taxpayers alike.
