The Problem

Since 2000, medical care inflation has significantly outpaced overall inflation, to the point that – even for people who have no trouble paying their bills each month – unexpected medical bills are the number one thing they worry about not being able to afford.

Coupled with the fact that the United States spends significantly more on healthcare than our peer countries, it becomes clear that more supply is needed to bring down costs. Increasing the number of providers and promoting competition are the fastest ways to do so.

Recommendations

Increasing Providers

• Congress should pass the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2023.
• Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants should have “full practice” up to their level of education and training, allowing them to evaluate and diagnose patients, order and interpret diagnostic tests, and initiate and manage treatment – including prescribing medication.
• States should grant provisional licenses to non-U.S. doctors with five years experience, who are in good standing in their home country, who have education and training substantially similar to U.S. education training, and who pass the same medical exams as U.S.-trained doctors.
• States should make it easier for out-of-state doctors to provide services in-state via telemedicine and expand their licensing reciprocity agreements with other states.

Promote Competition

• Certificate-of-Need (CON) laws, which are used by existing medical service providers to prevent new providers from entering the state, should be repealed.
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should enforce antitrust laws more vigorously among hospitals, with Congress appropriating additional resources to the FTC specifically earmarked for antitrust enforcement of hospital systems.
• Congress should amend the 1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to categorize sunscreen as a cosmetic rather than as a drug and to allow for sunscreen imports from countries with sufficiently high sunscreen standards.

For a more detailed analysis of the problems facing healthcare in America and our proposed solutions, read the full Democratic Cost-of-Living Report.