NYC deserves full not some health care pricing transparency

Recently the newly created Office of Healthcare Accountability within the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released its first report on healthcare pricing transparency but it lacked critical information.In 2023, our City finally made it easier for New Yorkers to understand their health care costs after our bipartisan City Council unanimously passed my legislation to create the nation’s first municipal Office of Healthcare Accountability to examine health care costs and hospital pricing practices.By utilizing federal hospital pricing regulations, this law will revolutionize health care in New York City by bringing transparency to prices and empowering New Yorkers with the information they deserve to finally uncover the hidden costs and expose the price gouging that has plagued our health care system for far too long.Our city simply cannot manage the health care spending that has risen to over 10 percent of our annual city budget.

In 2000, the City spent over $1.6 billion on health insurance for its employees, dependents, and retirees.By 2017, this cost had risen to over $6.3 billion and continued to skyrocket to an estimated $11 billion in 2023.Health care costs are astronomical with the price of childbirth alone in New York City ranging from $17,000 to $55,000.With inflation and potential draconian federal budget cuts, it is irresponsible to not utilize federal rules that require hospitals to post their prices, which is proven to save vital taxpayer funds.Due to the explosive growth of hospital costs that have risen over 100% since 2009, we now have the second-highest overall health care spending per person in the nation.

This is the biggest driver of the budgetary quagmire we are in, and New York City won’t have true budget stability until hospital pricing transparency is utilized.Last summer, I fought alongside a labor coalition comprising 32BJ, DC37, and others to allocate $2 million in our City budget to have a fully staffed Office of Healthcare Acc...