Lawmakers in Colorado and the hospitals in that state have been at odds over whether hospitals are overcharging patients while their profits grow, as a report commissioned by the state suggests.
Now, those lawmakers are upping the ante by seeking more financial transparency from health systems with two bills currently passing through the legislature, according to a March 31 report in the Denver Business Journal.
The proposals focus on what lawmakers claim are gaps in data that need to be filled to conclude whether hospitals and health systems in Colorado are unfairly raising patient prices, the report said.
In January, Governor Jared Polis said local hospitals are overcharging patients while sitting on significant cash reserves. But hospitals and health systems say the data he was using is old and does not reflect the financial challenges they currently face.