Washington, D.C. — In response to new actions announced by the Biden Administration today to lower health care costs and rein in junk fees, like cracking down on on “junk insurance,” surprise medical billing, unfair medical debt, and more, the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.

“The President’s latest crackdown on junk fees and deceptive practices across healthcare sends a clear message: working families come before corporate profits,” said Nidhi Hegde, Managing Director of the American Economic Liberties Project. “From exposing hidden facility fees, to leading an inter-agency effort to protect patients from unfair medical debt and risky medical credit cards, it’s clear this administration is working to make sure big corporations can’t abuse their market power to cheat consumers. In leading the charge against junk fees, CFPB Director Chopra has set the standard for the administration’s dedication to working families and fair markets. We urge all agencies to follow his lead.”

Today, the President announced a series of actions to lower costs across the healthcare industry, making the fight against junk fees a key part of the strategy. These include an effort to bring transparency to hidden facility fees, which are a junk fee for health care provided outside of hospitals, and a crack down on junk insurance. The crackdown on junk insurance aims to close loopholes that were allowed by the previous administration, enabling companies to offer misleading insurance products that discriminate against individuals with pre-existing conditions.

In an effort to curb unexpected health costs, the CFPB, HHS, and Treasury are releasing a Request for Information (RFI) to gather information about deceptive third-party medical credit cards and loans, which are often promoted by healthcare providers at the expense of patients. The RFI will explore whether providers are operating outside of existing consumer protections.

The announced actions build upon the administration’s previous work tackling junk fees across various sectors of the economy, including in banking, airlines, ticketing, and more.

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.