SENATORS GRATWICK AND LACHOWICZ APPOINTED TO COMMISSION TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY IN HEALTH CARE COSTS

AUGUSTA—Senator Geoff Gratwick (D-Bangor) and Senator Colleen Lachowicz (D-Waterville) have been appointed to a special legislative commission to explore the transparency of hospital billing practices and increase public access to hospital financial information, health care costs, and quality measures.

“When you go to the doctor or hospital, you should know what you’re paying for,” said Senator Gratwick, a practicing physician who sponsored the original bill to create the commission and will serve as its chair. “People can make informed decisions about their health care only if they have accurate information about costs.”

The idea for the study was prompted in part by a recent report by Time Magazine that revealed exorbitant medical costs hidden in bills from hospitals in Maine and other states.  These included one charge of $77 for a box of gauze for a patient diagnosed with lung cancer.

A recent federal report found that there is significant variation in prices for the same medical procedures at different hospitals. Here in Maine, for example, the report noted that the average price of pneumonia treatment is $20,058 at York Hospital, but only $5,402 at Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent.

“Health care costs are too high, and we need to do everything we can to understand why,” said Senator Lachowicz, a social worker who serves on the Health and Human Services Committee. “Allowing people to understand what they are paying for is a good first step in helping us bring costs down.”

“Maine did the right thing when we paid back the hospitals, but now it’s only fair that Maine patients and taxpayers have a clear understanding of what they are paying for when they get a medical bill,” added Senator Gratwick. “My hope is that this commission will help us get to the bottom of exorbitant health care costs so that Maine people don’t have to go bankrupt to get the health care they need.”

The commission will review and evaluate current data reported by hospitals, including revenue, charges, and quality measures, and will make recommendations to standardize reports in an easily understood format.

The commission will submit a report with recommendations to the Health and Human Services Committee and the Insurance and Financial Services Committee on December 4th of this year.

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