The first congressional hearing on Medicare-for-all was defined by the opening statement by activist Ady Barkan, who has ALS and used a computer system to testify to the House panel about why he believes America needs single-payer health care. “Our time on this earth is the most precious resource we have. A Medicare-for-all system will save all of us tremendous time. For doctors and nurses and providers, it will mean more time giving high-quality care. And for patients and our families, it will ... Read more

House Democrats’ first formal foray into debating a national “Medicare for All” system, with a rare initial hearing in the Rules Committee on Tuesday, demonstrates how carefully the party is trying to present a united image on a divisive election-year issue. Like the broader party, the committee’s Democrats are split over a bill that would shift most Americans into a government-paid health care system. Five of the nine Democrats on the panel, commonly referred to as the “Speaker’s committee,” ha... Read more

Hospitals and insurers are gearing up to battle a Trump administration plan that could require the public disclosure of negotiated prices for medical services, part of an effort to lower U.S. health-care costs. Patient advocates have largely cheered the idea, saying consumers should be able to price shop before they pick a doctor or undergo treatment. But industry groups are attacking the administration’s legal authority to mandate price disclosure, which could upend hospitals’ negotiations with... Read more

The rapidly rising cost of health care is an issue that keeps families across the country up at night. In Colorado, nearly 70 percent of adults are concerned about being able to afford health care coverage in the future, and more than half say they have already experienced a financial health care burden. Looking at those statistics, it’s not surprising that a national exit poll showed that health care was voters’ number-one issue during the 2018 elections. Voters on both sides of the aisle want ... Read more

Washington, D.C. – Today U.S. Representatives Ed Perlmutter (D-CO-07) and Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08) introduced bipartisan legislation to require all medical providers, including insurers and drug companies, to publicly disclose costs for all products, services and procedures. H.R. 1409, the Transparency in All Health Care Pricing Act of 2019 requires all price disclosures to be available and accessible at the point of purchase, in print and online, and include all wholesale, retail, subsidized, d... Read more

Shopping for health care could become as easy as shopping for a car. A bill introduced by Colorado Congressman Ed Perlmutter would require transparency in the pricing of everything from surgeries to prescription drugs. “You should know going in, if this is a normal routine kind of thing, what it’s going to cost coming out. The goal is that you could do a little shopping… that’s how you get competition, if you have an informed customer,” said Rep. Perlmutter, a Democrat representing Colorado’s 7t... Read more

Washington, D.C. — Legislation providing desperately-needed financial peace of mind to patients battling cancer has been signed into law. The text of H.R. 2976, the Deferment for Active Cancer Treatment Act - introduced by Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) - passed the House last week and was signed into law on September 28, 2018. Currently, individuals are able to defer student loan payments for various reasons such as going back to school, joining the armed services or ... Read more

Washington, D.C. — The text of H.R. 2976, the Deferment for Active Cancer Treatment Act, introduced by U.S. Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), was successfully included in the bipartisan fiscal year 2019 Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The legislation would enable individuals who are diagnosed with cancer to defer payments on public student loans while actively receiving lifesaving treatment without interest a... Read more

Never before in human history have we had so much information for so little cost. Type a word or idea into Google and in .05 seconds, you’ll see over seven million results. If information is power, then it would appear that American consumers have never been as powerful than in the present moment. So why then do the costs of medical procedures and treatments remain a mystery? Prices are available for almost everything else except when it comes to our own health care. Patients are required to kno... Read more

WASHINGTON — Congress this week passed a $1.3 trillion plan to fund the federal government through Sept. 30, and tucked into that 2,232-page measure — which President Donald Trump must sign to avoid a shutdown — are several provisions that will have an impact on Colorado. Among them: New money to fight wildfires A longstanding concern among Western lawmakers is the way that the federal government is forced to pay for its efforts to fight wildfires. Too often, the cost has been so much that the U... Read more