MADISON – On Thursday, Senator Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin), Senator Mary Felzkowski (R-Irma), and Representative Bob Wittke (R-Caledonia) announced the Price Transparency for Patients Act, legislation laying out clear requirements for hospitals to publicly share pricing information with consumers. The legislation requires that hospitals in Wisconsin comply with federal hospital price transparency rules. If the federal requirements cease to exist, state-level requirements are enforced by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), including a machine-readable file and a consumer-friendly list of “standard charges.” The bill also lays out the process for DHS to monitor hospitals’ compliance and bring them into alignment with the current requirements; this includes maintaining a public list of noncompliant hospitals, requesting a corrective action plan, or imposing penalties. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) and other Wisconsin business leaders came out in strong support of the legislation.
WMC Associate Vice President of Government Relations Rachel Ver Velde said, “WMC supports efforts to bring greater transparency to healthcare costs in Wisconsin. Patients deserve clear, accessible information to make informed, market-based decisions about their care. Currently, Wisconsin employers and consumers are at a disadvantage, lacking the tools to effectively compare medical costs and quality. This lack of transparency has contributed to Wisconsin having the fourth-highest hospital prices in the country. This legislation is a critical step in making health care more affordable, addressing the urgent need for transparency in healthcare costs.”
Forge Investors LLC Chief Financial Officer Mark Gelhaus, CPA, JD, stated, “Price transparency to the customer is critical if we are serious about moving health care into a free market environment, where consumerism and competition can work to put appropriate values on health care services, and also importantly make health care more affordable to significantly more people, improving health outcomes and reducing dependence on the government.”
Nolato Contour President Russell Steele added, “As an employer committed to the well-being of our workforce, we strongly support Wisconsin legislation aimed at hospital price transparency. Our ability to attract and retain great talent depends not only on offering quality benefits but also on ensuring those benefits are affordable and understandable. When employees can access clear, upfront pricing for medical services, they feel more confident in their healthcare choices and less burdened by unexpected costs. Greater transparency helps us manage rising healthcare expenses while supporting employee satisfaction and financial wellness—key drivers of long-term retention and organizational health.”
DeWitt Law Firm President & Managing Partner Timothy L. Stewart said, “The lack of transparency in health care in general, and in hospital care specifically, makes it very difficult for our employees to be responsible consumers of health care. Deductibles and copays continue to rise, which means that more responsibility falls on the employee to make good choices in their health care decisions. And yet, many hospitals make it almost impossible for a consumer (i.e., a patient) to know an approximate cost of a hospital stay, procedure or other good or service so that the consumer might compare options. In other words, consumers are expected to buy their health care without knowing the cost- in what other industry is this considered acceptable? Health care providers need to be more transparent to their patients to enable those patients to make informed choices.”
Paper Machinery Corporation Chief Financial Officer Steen Coleman continued, “Paper Machinery Corporation supports the passing of hospital transparency legislation. Healthcare costs are becoming an increasingly significant line item on our company’s income statement. Most concerning is the lack of visibility and the lack of control we have of these costs. Hospital price transparency is an essential tool for employers and employees alike seeking to understand the true cost of healthcare and the drivers that impact it.”
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