{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://spartz.house.gov/media/press-releases/spartz-calls-real-price-transparency-not-another-washington-messaging-exercise", "Spartz Calls for Real Price Transparency, Not Another Washington Messaging Exercise", "2026-08-06", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "IN", "Victoria Spartz", "S000929", "spartz.house.gov", "spartz", "https://spartz.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Congresswoman Victoria Spartz (IN-05) called on House leadership to strengthen pending health care price transparency legislation before it reaches the House floor, urging Congress to deliver reforms that empower patients instead of protecting entrenched health care interests.\n\nIn a letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, Spartz urged lawmakers to reconsider legislative text that relies on negotiated rates, complex reporting requirements, and cost estimates rather than providing patients with clear, upfront prices before they receive care.\n\n\u201cAmericans deserve real price transparency - not another Washington messaging exercise,\u201d said Rep. Spartz. \u201cPatients should know the actual price of care before receiving treatment so they can compare options, shop for value, and benefit from true market competition.\u201d\n\nSpartz warned that the current proposals risk preserving the opaque pricing system that benefits large hospital systems and insurance companies while failing to deliver meaningful savings for American families. She also pointed to years of litigation, administrative burdens, and implementation challenges following the No Surprises Act as a reminder that Congress should avoid poorly drafted and difficult-to-enforce legislation.\n\nInstead, Spartz urged House leadership to advance reforms that deliver meaningful transparency by requiring broader disclosure of negotiated prices and expanding access to health plan claims data to help identify overbilling and other practices that drive up costs.\n\n\u201cThe goal should be simple: deliver actual prices, real competition, and lower costs for American families,\u201d Spartz said. \u201cCongress has an opportunity to put patients first by passing meaningful transparency reforms instead of protecting the status quo.\u201d\n\nRep. Spartz copied House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise on the letter urging House leadership to strengthen the legislation before floor consideration.", 1, "2026-08-07T06:11:19Z", "2026-08-07T06:12:42Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://spartz.house.gov/media/press-releases/spartz-calls-real-price-transparency-not-another-washington-messaging-exercise"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.752961426973343, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}