{"id":2633633,"date":"2026-07-22T12:44:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T16:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hospital-transparency-and-insulin-price-cap-bills-advance-to-senate-floor\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T12:48:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T16:48:07","slug":"hospital-transparency-and-insulin-price-cap-bills-advance-to-senate-floor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hospital-transparency-and-insulin-price-cap-bills-advance-to-senate-floor\/","title":{"rendered":"Hospital transparency and insulin price cap bills advance to Senate floor"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhospital-transparency-and-insulin-price-cap-bills-advance-to-senate-floor%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2633633&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Several healthcare-related bills advanced out of the Senate health committee ahead of the August recess, with bipartisan support. These include measures to enhance hospital price transparency, cap insulin costs, regulate high-sugar foods to address childhood diabetes, and promote food and pharmaceutical reforms. Notable legislation involves requiring hospitals to disclose negotiated prices, capping insulin at $35\/month, and mandating warning labels on unhealthy foods. While most bills gained unanimous or broad support, some, like the insulin cap, faced opposition based on concerns about price controls. Healthcare costs have become a key issue ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with voters prioritizing affordability. The bills aim to improve transparency, reduce costs, and combat obesity and diabetes, reflecting a consensus on tackling pressing health challenges through legislative action.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hospital price transparency, insulin price caps, food regulations, and a slew of other healthcare bills advanced out of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\">Senate<\/a> health committee on Wednesday ahead of the August congressional recess.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both Republicans and Democrats voted to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.help.senate.gov\/hearings\/the-following-agenda-to-be-considered-07-22-2026\">support 13<\/a> bills meant to lower healthcare costs, revise pharmaceutical regulations, and implement food reforms.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4658426\/hospital-transparency-insulin-price-cap-diabetes-bills-advance-senate-floor\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Hospital transparency and insulin price cap bills advance to Senate floor<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4656962\/rfk-jr-says-cyclosporiasis-outbreak-under-control-despite-cuts-foodnet-surveillance\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>RFK Jr. says cyclosporiasis outbreak \u2018under control\u2019 despite cuts to FoodNet surveillance<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4656747\/rfk-jr-pauses-medicaid-reimbursement-minnesota-california-fraud\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>RFK Jr. pauses Medicaid reimbursement to Minnesota and California over fraud<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Healthcare costs have become a central issue ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, as voters rank being able to afford healthcare as <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4510469\/healthcare-overtakes-economy-voter-worry-gallup-poll\/\">a greater concern<\/a> than economic worries such as inflation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While many of the bills directly address healthcare costs through hospitals and pharmaceuticals, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) advanced a bill that would require the Food and Drug Administration to put warning labels on ultraprocessed foods and restrict junk food advertising. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) praised the bipartisanship of the committee working to advance the bills to the full Senate for consideration almost unanimously.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen people say that Congress is not functioning well, this committee had a long morning because we are functioning well, and we\u2019ve taken stuff from people who are off committee and on committee, and in a considered way brought good things that make our country\u2019s life better,\u201d Cassidy said. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are some of the key pieces of legislation to watch as they now progress to the full Senate.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-hospital-price-transparency\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hospital price transparency<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One bill, written by Sens. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO), the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4656044\/bipartisan-push-hospital-price-transparency-bills-before-august-recess\/\">Patients Deserve Price Tags Act<\/a>, would require hospitals to clearly communicate their negotiated prices to patients and impose strict penalties for failing to comply. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLook, patients deserve price tags, not surprise billing,\u201d Marshall said. \u201cOnce and for all, we\u2019ll force transparency. transparency and competition into healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hickenlooper said the status quo of estimated prices and limited transparency particularly hurts the 180 million Americans with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/susan-sarandon-rips-democrats-for-failure-on-stimulus-warns-of-2022-collapse\/\" title=\"Susan Sarandon Rips Democrats For Failure On Stimulus, Warns Of 2022 Collapse\">employer-sponsored health insurance<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo single company in this system is a monopoly,\u201d Hickenlooper said. \u201cBut without transparency, healthcare is an aggregated monopoly. This makes it almost impossible for people to make financially sound decisions about their health care.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hickenlooper said the bill would generate an additional $75 billion in tax revenue and \u201csavings and reductions of costs would be dramatically more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) opposed the bill because healthcare prices are fixed for those on Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance. He argued that healthcare prices are not reflective of a true marketplace in which competition drives down prices. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t want people to think that this fixes the problem,\u201d Paul said. \u201cWhen you mandate transparency on prices that are fixed, it doesn\u2019t change the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul was the only no vote.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"h-insulin-price-caps\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Insulin price caps<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) put forward the INSULIN Act, which would cap insulin prices at $35 per month, a proposal that has had strong bipartisan support for several years. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhile recent decisions by manufacturers to cut their list prices on insulin is encouraging, there is still more work to be done,\u201d Collins said. \u201cOur bill would cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for individuals who are on commercial insurance plans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nearly 40% of people with diabetes have rationed or skipped insulin doses due to cost, according to the American Diabetes Association. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Collins said the bill was introduced without a provision to include individuals without insurance in the price cap in order to get the text before the committee for a full vote. But the committee amended the legislation to make the price cap applicable regardless of insurance status.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul opposed the bill, citing the history of price controls in Venezuela and the Soviet Union. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI respect the intentions and motives of those who would like to see lower insulin prices in the bill, but historically price controls don\u2019t work,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There were four senators who voted against the bill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cassidy, who voted for the bill, said that the bill \u201cmay need more refinement and may encounter policy and procedural hurdles\u201d when considered by the full Senate. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am pleased that we were able to advance it to the next stage of the legislative process,\u201d Cassidy said.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-sanders-takes-on-childhood-diabetes\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sanders takes on childhood diabetes<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sanders\u2019s bill, the Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act, would place warning labels on foods and beverages with high sugar, saturated fat, and sodium content. It received support from several Republicans on the committee, passing by 12 to 10.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn America today, we have an obesity epidemic and a diabetes epidemic,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cThey are both directly related, and they are both getting worse. More than 35 million Americans have type 2 diabetes, over 10% of our population.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several Republicans, including Cassidy and Marshall, supported Sanders\u2019s bill, citing the severity of the childhood obesity epidemic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s not perfect, but sometimes you have to, we just have to do something, and this is the most significant something I can see,\u201d Marshall said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4652384\/doctors-skeptical-hegseth-high-t-military-program\/\"><strong>DOCTORS SKEPTICAL OF HEGSETH\u2019S \u2018HIGH-T\u2019 MILITARY PROGRAM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul offered an amendment to the bill that would change the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps, to prevent excessively sugary foods and beverages.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul\u2019s amendment was tabled to allow time to consult with the Agriculture Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal nutrition programs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate advances bills on hospital prices, insulin caps, food rules<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2666,"featured_media":2633634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-collage-7jpinczrv-1784727543554-e1784727713819.jpg?1784722393&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4606,15668,4762,12404],"class_list":["post-2633633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-healthcare","tag-insulin","tag-legislation","tag-transparency"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-collage-7jpinczrv-1784727543554-e1784727713819.jpg?1784722393&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2666"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2633633"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2633638,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633633\/revisions\/2633638"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2633634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2633633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2633633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2633633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}