Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios
Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal is joining GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz’s push to reign in health care costs. The pair plans to introduce a bill later today to fight hospital consolidation, they told Axios exclusively.
Why it matters: This bill shows there’s some bipartisan enthusiasm for taking on the fight against hospital costs, which Peter predicted will be one of Congress’s next big health policy battles.
- Spartz released a slate of bills aimed at cracking down on health care costs earlier this year, but this is her first bill on the topic introduced with a Democratic cosponsor.
How it works: The bill would clarify the Federal Trade Commission's ability to take action against anti-competitive conduct by non-profit hospitals and other hospital service organizations.
- The short legislation adds a line to the Federal Trade Commission Act to cover non-profit hospitals under unfair methods of competition law.
What they’re saying: “We are saying enough is enough with corporate profiteering off people’s illnesses in our healthcare system,” Jayapal said in a statement ahead of the bill’s introduction.
The other side: The American Hospital Association didn’t have a comment on the bill, but the powerful lobby has an entire page of its website devoted to “The Value of Hospital Mergers.”
