Senators Begrudgingly Move Hospital ‘Price Caps’ Bill

House Bill 1004, a priority bill in Indiana’s legislature, advanced in the Senate Health and Provider Services Committee this week despite significant reservations from lawmakers. The bill seeks to implement price caps on hospital charges and restructure the Hospital Assessment Fee (HAF) provider tax. While the latter provision was widely supported, the price cap proposal faced strong opposition.  

Senators expressed frustration over the bill and raised concerns about its impact on all hospitals. Critics, including hospital executives, argued that the bill unfairly targets hospitals while ignoring insurer practices that contribute to high health care costs.

“If you set a cap on how we get paid, that money saves the insurance company. It’s up to them whether they pass it on or not,” said Randy Christophel, president and CEO of Goshen Health.  

But hospital leaders applauded the provision that would redesign the HAF, which would leverage additional federal dollars to raise Medicaid reimbursement for hospitals.  

“If we didn’t pass the HAF changes, my hospitals would be losing $35-50 million a year. And that’s unsustainable,” said Michael Schroyer, president of Baptist Health Floyd in New Albany. Read more: Senators begrudgingly move hospital ‘price caps’ bill

Article and image source: IndianaCapitalChronicle.com, Senators begrudgingly move hospital ‘price caps’ bill, March 20, 2025, written by Whitney Downard