A basic consumer protection in the modern economy is clear, upfront prices. Actual prices for goods and services protect Coloradans from overcharging, provide financial certainty, and allow shopping for the best value.

Yet there’s one notable economic sector where this price protection doesn’t exist: health care. Patients generally don’t know the cost of treatments before receiving them. As a result of these hidden prices, Coloradans are vulnerable to price gouging from providers that have the ability to charge essentially whatever they want after care has been provided.

This concern is especially relevant in Colorado, where hospital prices and profitability are among the highest in the nation. According to the Rand Corporation, Colorado hospitals charge nearly 300% of what the federal Medicare program pays for the same care.

We’re cosponsoring bipartisan hospital price transparency legislation to end this quirk in America’s pro-consumer economy. Senate Bill 252, which passed in the Colorado Senate on Wednesday, requires hospitals in the state to publish their actual prices before care, including their discounted cash and health insurance plan rates.

We disagree on many public policy issues but strongly agree about the importance of health care price transparency. Health care consumers, including Colorado employers and unions, deserve the same power and protections that upfront prices provide customers throughout the state’s economy.

Federal law already requires hospitals to post their real prices. Unfortunately, most aren’t complying with it. A recent study by PatientRightsAdvocate.org finds that zero Colorado hospitals among 32 examined are fully following the federal hospital price rule that took effect on January 1, 2021. A recent state report reveals only about 27% of hospitals are complying.

Our state legislation can make hospital price transparency a reality by implementing another enforcement mechanism at the state level to compel hospitals to comply. As amended, the bill requires the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to conduct performance assessments for adherence to federal transparency rules. If a hospital isn’t in compliance, the department may issue a written notice and provide technical assistance. Those that continue to hide their prices will be referred to the state attorney general for committing a deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.

Such robust enforcement will unleash actual hospital prices that will significantly lower outrageous hospital costs burdening so many Coloradans. Consider Cindy Reddy of Broomfield, who testified at a Senate hearing that her hospital charged her $64,000 for a hysterectomy. She explained how she would have shopped for a less expensive alternative if she had known this price beforehand.

Sidecar Health estimates that the average cash price for a hysterectomy at a Colorado hospital is $12,803. Price transparency will empower patients to prevent hospital price gouging and converge the well-documented vast price differences for the same care.

Yet under the opaque status quo, Reddy has joined the approximately 100 million Americans with medical debt. She’s had her bill sent to debt collections, and collectors have hounded her, asking her to list her assets. According to research by the Urban Institute, 11% of Coloradans — and 19% of Coloradans of color — have medical debt in collections.

Our bill will protect patients like Reddy and keep many Coloradans out of medical debt in the first place. State businesses, which provide most Coloradans with private health coverage, will also be able to identify quality, less expensive care and pass the savings along to their employees through lower monthly premiums. Hospital price transparency can make state businesses and the economy more competitive.

Price-armed consumers will force hospitals to compete over price and quality, just like every other business in the state, significantly reducing hospital markups and health care costs. Our hospital price transparency bill will finally expand to healthcare the fundamental principle everyone agrees to elsewhere in the economy: Consumers deserve clear, upfront prices.

Julie Gonzales is a Democratic Party member of the Colorado State Senate, representing District 34. Kevin Van Winkle is a Republican Party member of the Colorado State Senate, representing District 30. 

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