Rick Scott makes pitch for hospital transparency proposal at American Enterprise Institute

Florida Gov. Rick Scott made a pitch for his hospital transparency legislation, this time laying out his plan to a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C.

Scott, a former hospital executive, spoke at the American Enterprise Institute on Thursday. The Naples Republican used his appearance as a chance to outline a proposal that, he contends, would make hospital pricing more transparent.

“There’s no reason, in my opinion, that we should not know what things cost,” he said. “What I pushed for this year is that all hospitals should post all of their prices on their website. On top of that, if you go in for something, like to the emergency room, (hospitals) shouldn’t be able to charge you more than a certain percentage over their average price.”

Scott said hospitals need to tell patients “how much money they make, what their executive compensation is,” so they can make informed decisions.

In May, Scott created the Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding to look at ways government spending on health care can be more efficient. Scott and the board heard from Floridians who reported price gouging, and Scott said his proposal would attempt to put a stop to that.

“It’s wrong that our hospital industry doesn’t tell us what things cost,” he said. “It’s not fair to patients.”

Scott’s speech came as the state Senate health and human services appropriations subcommittee passed legislation aimed increasing transparency and availability of pricing and quality of service information.

The Senate proposal requires the Agency for Health Care Administration to work with vendors to create a database that consumers can research the cost of health care services. It also provides for penalties for “unconscionable prices.”

“Patients in need of medical treatment deserve to know how much they should reasonably expect to pay for particular services,” said Senate President Andy Gardiner in a statement. “This bill will make that information more readily available and also includes penalties for those entities who would charge unconscionable prices to Floridians in need of medical attention.”

Scott, however, told the crowd at the American Enterprise Institute that House and Senate proposals don’t go far enough, and there need to be penalties to ensure the law is enforced.

“Everyone should know what everything costs,” said Scott. “The information should be posted online, and you’ve got to have penalties. I think it’s important.”