Miller-Meeks: Patients Deserve to Know What They'll Pay Before They Walk Through the Door

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), a physician who practiced medicine for decades before coming to Congress, today introduced the Prices on the Wall Act of 2026, legislation that would require hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, laboratories, and imaging providers to post their prices where patients can actually see them.

As a physician, Congresswoman Miller-Meeks has long fought for health care cost transparency, believing that patients deserve to know what they will be charged before they walk through the door. Despite existing federal price transparency requirements, prices remain hidden from patients at the point of care. The Prices on the Wall Act takes a straightforward approach: put the prices where patients can actually see them.

"No one should walk into a hospital, a lab, or an imaging center without knowing what it is going to cost them," said Dr. Miller-Meeks. "As a physician, I have seen firsthand what happens when patients are blindsided by bills they never saw coming. Transparency is not a radical idea. It is common sense, and it is long overdue."

What the Prices on the Wall Act Does:

• Requires hospitals to post discounted cash prices for all CMS-specified shoppable services in clearly visible areas beginning January 1, 2028.
• Requires ambulatory surgical centers to post prices for shoppable services in clearly visible areas beginning January 1, 2028.
• Requires laboratories to post prices for specified clinical diagnostic laboratory tests beginning January 1, 2028.
• Requires imaging providers to post prices for imaging services in clearly visible areas beginning January 1, 2028.

Shoppable services are defined as services that can be scheduled in advance by a health care consumer, giving patients the opportunity to compare costs and make informed choices before receiving care.

The bill passed the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health unanimously and has been referred to the full House Energy and Commerce Committee, where Congresswoman Miller-Meeks serves as a member.

Read the bill text HERE.

Watch Congresswoman Miller-Meeks' subcommittee remarks HERE.

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