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NEW YORK, Dec. 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Activists, New York City Council Members, and Labor Unions representing nurses, teachers, workers, and churches congregated on the steps of New York City Hall today to rally behind proposed legislation by Council Member Julie Menin for hospital price transparency and healthcare accountability.
The legislation would provide for the creation of a NYC Office of Healthcare Accountability (OHA), the first of its kind in the nation on the local government level, to serve as a centralized entity tasked with monitoring healthcare costs and hospital prices and identifying mechanisms to increase the affordability of services paid for by NYC government, businesses, and residents. The Office of Healthcare Accountability would give the city the data it needs to hold hospitals accountable and to ensure that New York City has an agile system to better track and monitor hospital prices and practices. Businesses and consumers would also have access to data to make more informed decisions about how they spend their healthcare dollars.
NYC spent approximately $9.0 billion on health benefits for municipal employees in 2021 and could be overpaying by $2.0 billion annually on hospital costs because they are being charged approximately 3-4 times more than the Medicare break even rate for the same services/procedures. The 32BJ Health Fund conducted a study that showed that from 2016-2019, private hospital systems charged the 32BJ Health Fund 315% more than what they charged Medicare for the same services – a difference of more than $1 billion in additional costs. The report also found that prices charged for the same service vary widely across different New York City hospital systems. For example, an inpatient C-section in New York City, prices varied from $55,077 at Montefiore Medical Center down to $27,716 at Maimonides Hospital to just $17,681 at NYC Health + Hospitals. For an outpatient colonoscopy, prices ranged from $10,368 at New York- Presbyterian down to $4,139 at Mt. Sinai Hospital yet only cost $2,185 at NYC Health + Hospitals.
Out-of-control hospital prices drive down wages and are a significant barrier to accessing affordable healthcare for working people. It also makes it more difficult for businesses to maintain health coverage for their employees.
“We are here to show hospitals that people count. And if we all can stand together, we are so powerful. That’s the only way something is going to happen. It’s up to us.”
Susan Sarandon, Activist and Actor
“NYC Hospitals are taking advantage of people facing real-life health crises by price gouging them for services and procedures that they depend on for their health and survival. It’s unconscionable that we even need to implement a special watchdog office to control such corporate greed in New York City healthcare, but, alas, here we are! We demand hospital prices and we demand accountability and creating the Office of Healthcare Accountability is how we get there.” Kevin Morra Co-Founder, Power to the Patients www.powertothepatients.org
"This legislation will empower New Yorkers to substantially reduce their healthcare costs. Access to real prices through the city's Office of Healthcare Accountability will empower consumers — including unions employers, and the city itself — to compare prices and save. This legislation will also encourage greater hospital compliance with the federal hospital price transparency rule, unleashing a functional, competitive marketplace that puts runaway cost trends in reverse and revolutionizes healthcare in the city."
Cynthia Fisher, Founder and Chairman, PatientRightsAdvocate.org
Contact: maureen@powertothepatients.org
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
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