Republican Sens. Ashley Moody and Dan Sullivan are calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to probe “improper” healthcare billing practices that result in high medical debt.
Moody and Sullivan announced Tuesday that they sent a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on May 28 urging him to “investigate and provide recommendations to Congress for addressing inappropriate health care billing practices that lead to high levels of medical debt.” The letter also alleges that despite efforts by Congress and President Donald Trump to “insulate patients from ‘surprise’ medical bills in the No Surprises Act, after four years of runaway inflation and increasing health costs under the Biden Administration, instances of high medical debt continue to be a top concern for our constituents.”
“Perhaps most disturbing, there are many reports that indicate hospital bills charged to the uninsured that end up as medical debt are often well in excess of the actual cost of providing the service,” according to the letter. “Just last month, an investigation by NBC News found ‘facilities on average charge the uninsured almost five times what Medicare pays for the same procedure.’”
The senators’ letter also alleges that “while cash rates for health care services are lower than the official hospital list prices, actually securing these lower rates requires navigating a complex bureaucracy that patients rarely can access without specialized advocacy they do not know exists.”
The HHS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Soaring healthcare costs remain a major concern for Americans ahead of November’s midterm elections. A KFF poll released on April 29 found that 64% of U.S. adults are now worried about being able to afford medical care costs.
Additionally, 36% of U.S. households had medical debt in 2024, while 21% had a past-due medical bill, and 23% were paying a medical bill over time to a provider, according to the National Library of Medicine. High deductibles and other forms of cost sharing often contribute to people receiving medical bills that they are unable to pay despite having health insurance, according to a February 2024 report from KFF.
In January, Trump unveiled the Great Healthcare Plan, which aims to “lower drug prices, lower insurance premiums, hold big insurance companies accountable, and maximize price transparency.”
Both Moody and Sullivan are running for reelection in November.
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