The senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, penned a letter on the topic to experts including economists, physicians, nurses, patients, hospital administrators, state lawmakers, governors, employers, insurers and healthcare innovators.
In the letter, he asks recipients to tell him what steps Congress can take to address rising healthcare costs and what steps it can recommend to the Trump administration.
Mr. Alexander wrote the letter after holding five Senate health committee on the topic of reducing healthcare costs.
“The five hearings we held reminded us of something else we should agree on: One major reason for the unnecessarily high cost of healthcare is that the healthcare system does not operate with the discipline and cost-saving benefits of a real market. Too many barriers to innovation drive up costs. And most Americans have no idea of the true price of the healthcare services they buy — which also drives up costs,” Mr. Alexander said in a speech given on the Senate floor.
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