A PYMNTS Company

US: Bipartisan proposal aims to curb Health-Industry contracts that block competition

By  |  May 23, 2019

New draft legislation from Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate health committee would ban contracting practices that some hospital systems have used to protect their business and block efforts to curb costs.

The draft targets the largely secret contracts between hospital systems and insurers that govern prices that employers and consumers pay for care in private health coverage. Practices that would be restricted under the draft include language that can stop insurers from steering patients toward less-expensive…