At a hearing in Washington, D.C., Congressman Morgan Griffith, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, addressed the issue of health care costs and challenges related to patient access. The hearing, titled "Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of Health Insurance Affordability," focused on affordability across the health insurance marketplace.
Griffith highlighted that this session builds on previous efforts by Republicans in Congress to address health care affordability. He noted that future hearings are planned with various leaders and experts to further examine the root causes of rising health care costs.
The congressman pointed out that a small number of large corporations dominate the insurance market nationally. In some states, a single insurer may control as much as 80 or 90 percent of the market. Griffith also mentioned that major insurers often manage several parts of the health care supply chain, including pharmacy benefit managers, group purchasing organizations, provider groups, and specialty pharmacies.
Despite this integration, Griffith said patients often encounter complex benefit designs, narrow networks, prior authorization requirements, and unclear coverage decisions. He stated these factors can make patients feel they are paying more for less coverage. He also criticized the lack of transparency in the market.
Griffith identified the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, as a contributor to unaffordable insurance for millions. “When Democrats passed Obamacare, without Republican support, they sold the bill on the promises that premiums would fall, competition would rise, and ‘if you like your insurance plan, you will keep it,’” he said. “Instead, Obamacare has increased health care costs, warped incentives, federalized benefits, restricted plan design, and limited access to care.”
He added that many patients now have fewer choices than before ACA was enacted and shared an example from a constituent whose family has only one provider option. According to Griffith, this situation means ACA coverage does not translate into affordability for patients or taxpayers.
Employer-sponsored insurance is also becoming less affordable each year. More small businesses are choosing not to offer health insurance due to high costs. This trend affects their ability to compete and attract employees.
Griffith emphasized two points: “Competition is essential for patient access! Lack of competition and consolidation within the insurance marketplace has led us to higher health care costs as a whole.” He continued: “The health care system needs to work for patients.”
He called for empowering individuals with real choices and transparent prices while ensuring coverage fits their needs. “We must strive to have more competitive plan options that reward quality and focus on affordability, access, and outcomes,” he said.
“Our discussion today is meant to move beyond politics and spur debate about how we can work toward delivering meaningful, innovative solutions for the Americans that we serve,” Griffith concluded. “We owe it to patients to get to the root causes of the challenges we see across the health sector, and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses.”
