Watch the report here. 

MADISONVILLE, La. – A recent investigation has highlighted Sen. John Kennedy’s (R-La.) work to make hospital prices clear to patients before they pursue treatment. InvestigateTV’s analysis found that, despite the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) attempt to make hospital prices clear to the public, many hospitals have not complied with the agency’s Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule.

The rule went into effect in 2021 and requires hospitals to share their pricing information online, yet many hospitals have not provided patients with straightforward access to pricing for routine services. Kennedy has authored a bill, the Hospital Transparency Compliance Enforcement Act, that would incentivize hospitals to share this information by doubling the current penalties for noncompliant hospitals to as much as $11,000 per day.

In the report, Kennedy criticizes CMS for failing to enforce the rule effectively and says the agency has the authority to penalize hospitals that are “playing games” with consumers.

“I’ve gone to these hospital websites. They either don’t post their prices, or it would take Dog the Bounty Hunter to find out where on their website they’ve posted it. You've got to click here and click there and click there, and then click there to get there, and then it’s written in a foreign language,” said Kennedy.

Background:

The Hospital Price Transparency Rule requires hospitals to establish and make public a list of the prices that hospitals charge for items and services. Hospitals must also display charges in a consumer-friendly manner. A February 2023 study of 2,000 hospitals found that only 489—or 24%—were fully compliant. 

In January 2022, the government implemented higher penalties on hospitals that fail to comply with the transparency rule. CMS requires non-compliant hospitals with 30 or fewer beds to pay a penalty of $300 per day, those with 31 to 550 beds to pay between $310 and $5,500 per day and those with more than 550 beds to pay $5,500 per day.

The Hospital Transparency Compliance Enforcement Act would: 

• Double the current government penalties on non-compliant hospitals. Penalties would increase to $600 per day for hospitals with 30 or fewer beds, $620 to $11,000 per day for hospitals with 31 to 550 beds and $11,000 per day for hospitals with more than 550 beds. 

• Require all hospitals to comply with the higher penalties within six months of the law’s passage.

• Prohibit hospitals from shielding information on their websites using webpage coding.

• Give non-compliant hospitals 60 days after notice of non-compliance to pay their monetary penalty.

• Require CMS to publish the names of hospitals that have not complied.

Text of the Hospital Transparency Compliance Enforcement Act is available here.

Find the investigation’s report here.

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $5,540,986 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants for Louisiana flood protection. 

“I’m glad to see that this $5.5 million will help Louisianians in Ascension and Calcasieu Parishes protect their homes and businesses from flood damage,” said Kennedy.

The FEMA aid will fund the following:

• $2,821,146 to fund the elevation of 19 residential properties located throughout Ascension Parish.
• $2,719,840 to fund the elevation of seven properties and the acquisition of four residential properties located throughout Calcasieu Parish.

MADISONVILLE, La. – The Senate has passed a pro-law enforcement bill that Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, helped champion. The Recruit and Retain Act would address the nation-wide shortage of law enforcement officers, increase recruitment and address workforce challenges.

The legislation would boost the Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants to address onboarding costs and hiring challenges. The bill would create a new program encouraging partnerships between schools and police departments. That program would strengthen the hiring pipeline that connects students to law enforcement career opportunities.

“The Recruit and Retain Act offers a commonsense solution to police shortages in Louisiana and across the nation. This crucial bill will help communities hire more officers and support these public servants long term. With crime surging around the country, the House should send this to President Biden’s desk as soon as possible,” said Kennedy. 

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) co-led the legislation, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) are cosponsors, along with Kennedy.

The Recruit and Retain Act has received national endorsements from the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, Fraternal Order of Police, Major Cities Chiefs Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, National Association of Police Organizations, National Sheriffs Association, R Street Institute and the Peace Officers Research Association of California. 

Text of the legislation is available here.

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, applauded the Senate’s passing of the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) of 2023 as part of the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act.  

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) sponsored the bill, and Sens. Tom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) are original cosponsors, along with Kennedy.

“Our bipartisan bill would help protect Americans from bad actors in other countries who demand bribes as the price of doing business abroad. The Senate passed this long-overdue solution quickly, and the House should do the same so that American businesses can compete on a level, ethical playing field,” said Kennedy. 

This bill would protect U.S. firms from corrupt foreign officials because such officials often demand bribes as a prerequisite for doing business in their countries. The FEPA would make such demands illegal, which would ensure that U.S. companies remain competitive in international contexts. 

Under the FEPA Act, penalties for soliciting bribes would include a fine of up to $250,000 or three times the value of the bribe (whichever is greater) and a prison sentence of up to 15 years.  

The FEPA would: 

• Commission the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute foreign officials who request or receive a bribe from a U.S. individual or corporation, or from any person while in U.S. territory.

• Require that the DOJ issue an annual report that summarizes major enforcement actions, analyzes the effectiveness of efforts to shield U.S. businesses from bribery demands and addresses foreign governments’ efforts to prosecute people who solicit bribes from Americans.