The sausage-making is always a bit of a soap opera, and this one was no different. Virginia Delegate Dan Helmer had introduced a bill (HB 481) that would codify the federal price transparency regulation requiring hospitals to show their secret (and wildly, inexplicably variable) prices to the public. The regulation was first issued in response to an Executive Order by President Donald Trump. The policy is overwhelmingly supported by the American people, polling well over 90% in favor in every poll that asks. The Biden Administration doubled down on the policy, tightening up enforcement for noncompliant hospitals. The problem? The Virginia House had just gone red, and new leaders there weren’t so sure about a bill introduced by a Fairfax County Democrat.
That’s when AllBetter CEO Katy Talento and other former Trump health officials got to work, reminding legislators about the free market principles behind the policy, its broad bipartisan appeal and the urgency of forcing the vast majority of hospitals in Virginia that weren’t complying to come clean with patients, employers and policy makers. It was dicey there for a bit, but eventually the bill received a number of bipartisan co-sponsors and was passed nearly unanimously by both chambers. It now sits on Governor Youngkin’s desk for signature.
Read the letter to legislators by former Trump health officials and independent physicians.