Submitted
Editor’s note: The following press release was submitted to The Reporter on behalf of Brian Tabor, President of the Indiana Hospital Association.
We applaud Governor Eric Holcomb’s leadership in putting forth a legislative agenda with a comprehensive approach to sound health care policy. From saving Hoosier lives, protecting consumers, and increasing transparency, his proposals put Indiana on a path to lower costs and better health outcomes.
We share the Governor’s goal to make health care more affordable and make it easier for Hoosiers to better understand cost and quality. We support transparency and agree that the establishment of an all-payer claims data base is a significant step in this direction. Indiana hospitals are committed to transparency having launched MyCareINsight.org in 2015, which allows consumers to easily compare hospital charges and quality metrics among hospitals.
We also are pleased to see the Governor tackle surprise medical billing. When patients do their due diligence and seek care at an in-network facility, but encounter an out-of-network provider, or are treated in the emergency room with no option to make sure that every provider is in-network, they should not receive a “surprise” balance bill. Most factors that influence a person’s overall health occur outside of a hospital, and we are grateful for the Governor’s continued focus in this area. We are especially excited to see his support for increasing the age from 18 to 21 to purchase tobacco and vaping products. We also appreciate the continued commitment to addressing behavioral health and substance abuse in our hospitals, schools, jails, and beyond.
About Indiana Hospital Association
The Indiana Hospital Association serves as the professional trade association for more than 170 acute care, critical access, behavioral health and other specialized hospitals in Indiana. IHA advocates on behalf of its members in Indiana’s General Assembly, U.S. Congress, and with multiple regulatory agencies at the state and federal levels. Dedicated to improving quality, patient safety and Hoosiers’ health status, IHA holds numerous grants and facilitates collaboration among hospitals to improve outcomes. IHA also provides members with the data analytics that they need to ensure access to quality, cost-effective health care services across the state of Indiana. To learn more about IHA, visit IHAconnect.org.