Healthcare: Bobby Khan’s Plan to End Medical Price Gouging

Bobby Khan’s Plan to End Medical Price Gouging for Insured Patients

Healthcare Should Be Fair—Not a Scam

One of the biggest scams in the healthcare industry is that people with insurance end up paying more than those without it. Hospitals and providers inflate prices for insured patients because they know insurance companies will cover part of the cost—but the result is higher deductibles, co-pays, and out-of-pocket expenses for regular Americans.

It’s time to end this corrupt practice and ensure that having insurance actually benefits you, not hospitals and insurance companies.

The Problem: Price Gouging for Insured Patients

• Uninsured patients often negotiate lower costs than insured ones.
• Hospitals overcharge insured patients because insurance companies agree to pay inflated prices.
• Patients are hit with massive bills even after their insurance pays its share.
• Hospitals profit from insurance, while patients suffer with debt and high premiums.

Bobby Khan’s Plan to End Insurance Price Gouging

1. No More Overcharging Insured Patients
   • Require providers to charge insured and uninsured patients the same rates.
   • Hospitals and doctors cannot bill insured patients at a higher rate just because they have coverage.
   • A treatment should cost the same regardless of how it is paid for.
   • Limit markups on medical services.
   • Some hospitals charge 2-3 times more for procedures covered by insurance. That must stop.
   • A standard pricing system will prevent extreme overcharges.
2. No More Surprise Bills
   • Require upfront cost estimates before treatment.
   • Patients should know exactly what their procedure will cost before agreeing to treatment.
   • No more hidden fees, vague pricing, or unexpected bills months later.
   • Ban “out-of-network” surprise billing.
   • Patients should not be charged extra for seeing a doctor they didn’t choose.
   • If a hospital accepts your insurance, ALL doctors working there must be covered.
3. Ensure Fair & Affordable Co-Pays and Deductibles
   • Regulate how much insurers can require patients to pay out-of-pocket.
   • Insurance should not just be a profit machine—it should actually protect patients.
   • Capping co-pays and deductibles prevents insurance companies from shifting excessive costs onto patients.
   • Mandate equal treatment pricing across all insurance plans.
   • Patients should not be charged drastically different amounts just because they have a different provider.
   • Price transparency laws will make sure insurers and hospitals cannot game the system.
4. Eliminate Medical Debt from Overcharges
   • Ban collections on medical bills caused by insurance loopholes.
   • Many Americans end up in medical debt because their insurance company didn’t cover what they expected.
   • If a patient was misled about coverage, they should not be forced to pay the full amount.
   • Protect patients from being sued over inflated hospital charges.
   • Hospitals cannot sue patients for excessive charges that were artificially inflated.
   • Any overbilling must be automatically reviewed before a patient is held financially responsible

The Benefits of This Plan

• Ensures that insurance actually lowers costs for patients.
• Stops hospitals from profiting off of insured patients.
• Bans surprise bills and hidden fees.
• Lowers deductibles and co-pays for working families.
• Ends medical debt caused by unfair overbilling.

The Bottom Line: Healthcare Should Be Fair, Not a Financial Trap

Hospitals and insurance companies should not work together to overcharge patients.

• If you have insurance, you should pay less—not more.
• If you are insured, your costs should be clear upfront—no surprises.
• Medical care should be about healing, not financial ruin.

I am fighting to make healthcare truly affordable, eliminate corrupt pricing schemes, and protect Americans from medical debt caused by overbilling.

Bobby Khan for Congress – Fighting for Common Sense Healthcare Reform.