Letter: State should address billing practices

I agree with the points made by Natalie Robinson of the NFIB in her IBJ column, “Dishonest Billing Practices Add Pain to Small Businesses” [Feb. 24] that the price of health care has become out of control in Indiana.

The price that I pay for health care on site at a hospital should not be the same price I pay for an off-site visit to my primary care doctor’s office for the same service, but somehow hospitals are chasing that revenue and often charging the same price for both locations. This negatively impacts me as a consumer of health care, and it negatively impacts people like my husband who own and operate businesses and pay for a portion of their employees’ health care.

I am encouraged that the General Assembly is pushing Senate Bill 6, legislation that would address this dishonest practice and add transparency to our health care system. It is a common-sense solution in an area where common sense does not always rule the day.

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Karen Cummins