Congress can avoid another round of “Shutdowncare” by confronting the real driver of rising health-care spending: hospital systems warped by consolidation and counterproductive regulations. This op-ed outlines a smarter path forward focused on competition, flexibility, and lower

New from @ppi — hospital takeovers of independent physician practices are pushing healthcare costs higher and shrinking access to care. Independent clinics are down as much as 40% in some specialties, especially in rural areas, meaning fewer choices and pricier service for

Fixing this requires real enforcement, standardized pricing formats, and holding nonprofit systems accountable for the public benefits they receive. Patients deserve clarity, not games.

This opacity hits the uninsured and under-insured hardest while hospitals face little consequence for noncompliance.

Even when they technically comply, too many hospitals bury price data in massive, confusing files that are practically unusable for patients trying to compare options.

Nonprofit hospitals enjoy generous tax breaks and public support, yet many still fail basic transparency standards — leaving patients in the dark about what care actually costs.

When hospitals are both care providers and guardianship petitioners, the urgency to discharge can override patients’ interests — creating a troubling trend where legal control and post-hospital placement may be driven more by convenience than care.

This practice sometimes dubbed the “hospital-to-guardianship pipeline” can strip adults of their rights and autonomy without exhausting less restrictive alternatives such as limited guardianship or supported decision-making.

Many of these guardianships resulted in patients being discharged to nursing homes with poor performance ratings — including some with one-star records or histories of abuse — instead of homes chosen by family or friends.

A new investigation finds that Chicago-area hospitals have filed hundreds of guardianship petitions in just 18 months — often pushing patients into long-term legal guardianship and out of hospitals, even when families objected.

Hospitals must do better: improve triage and communication, take patient reports seriously, and make accountability the rule, not the exception. No one should suffer because they weren’t believed.

This kind of neglect isn’t rare. Across the country, patients continue to report being ignored, dismissed, or sent home in medical distress — often with devastating consequences.

Video from the family shows her clearly in pain and pleading for help. Hospital staff allegedly told her she wasn’t far enough along — even though her contractions were minutes apart.

A pregnant woman at Franciscan Health Crown Point in Indiana was reportedly sent home while in active labor — only to give birth eight minutes later in her car outside the hospital.

Congress spent another hearing talking about everything except the biggest driver of U.S. healthcare costs: hospital prices. Until lawmakers are willing to stare that reality in the face, Americans will keep paying more and getting less. #HospitalsSetthePrice

HAPPENING NOW: Chairman @RepFrenchHill convenes the Full Committee hearing entitled: "The Future of Deposit Insurance: Exploring the Coverage, Costs, and Depositor Confidence." 📺 Tune in

HAPPENING NOW: Senate Finance Committee on the Rising Cost of Healthcare

Rural hospitals need support — not desperation tactics. But Kansans deserve healthcare, not court dates.

Legal aid groups say many patients weren’t told they could get charity care or payment help before being sued. Instead of compassion, they got a summons.

Hospitals say they’re broke and need to collect every dollar. But suing your own patients? For $100 or $200? That’s not care — that’s cruelty.