Fighting for Affordable Health Care That Puts Patients First.

Join physicians across the country demanding bold reforms to reduce health care costs, protect coverage, and hold the politicians who are undermining access accountable.

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The Affordability Agenda

Americans are already struggling to afford health care, with nearly 4 in 10 delaying or skipping care because of the cost — and President Trump and Congress are only making things worse.

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed earlier this year will take away Medicaid from millions of Americans. At the same time, Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits are set to expire at the end of this year, leaving families less able to afford their health plans.

It’s critical for physicians to push back on attacks on health care and stand up for patients.

Our Affordability Agenda puts patients ahead of politics:

Expand and Protect Coverage ›››

Reduce Prescription Drug Costs ›››

Address Unchecked Hospital Consolidation & Unfair Pricing ›››

Expand and Protect Coverage

Too many Americans already struggle to afford and access the health care they need to live. We’ve seen what happens to patients when they have to forgo care — their health conditions worsen, making it harder to live, learn, work, and care for their families. Attacks on health care from the Trump administration and Congress threaten to raise costs and reduce access even further.

We are advocating to:

  • The enhanced premium tax credits that 22 million Americans rely on to afford their health care are set to expire at the end of the year, and the Republican-led Congress has avoided extending them all year.

 

  • With health care prices already increasing across the board, too many patients will find coverage completely out of reach.

 

  • Congress must extend the ACA health care tax credits before the end of the year — and it’s past time to make them permanent.
  • Legislation passed by Congress earlier this year is slated to make enormous cuts to Medicaid — the health care that many mothers, children, low-income seniors, and veterans rely on.

 

  • Congress needs to right their wrong and reverse these health care cuts. In the meantime, we need to work in the states to lessen the blow however we can.
  • Every patient deserves access to affordable, high-quality health care, no matter where they live or how much they earn. That’s why we’re advocating for public health care options that give patients more choices and lower costs.

 

  • By creating state-based public health insurance plans, we can introduce much-needed competition, drive down prices, and provide a safety net for those who can’t afford private insurance.
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Reduce Prescription Drug Costs

Prescription drugs only work when patients can afford them, and doctors know too well that, right now, too many patients can’t. About one in five adults say they have not filled a prescription because of the cost.

We are advocating to:

  • We’ve worked to create and help implement Prescription Drug Affordability Boards (PDABs) in states like Colorado, Maryland and Minnesota that are setting upper payment limits on needed prescriptions so that patients can actually access the lifesaving drugs they need.
  • PDABs advance affordability by converting drug savings into system-wide benefits. For example, when Maryland’s Board sets payment limits for overpriced medications like anti-diabetics—the state health plan’s costliest expense—the millions saved can be reinvested in community health centers, premium tax credits, or preventive care programs. These Boards don’t just lower drug costs; they redirect wasted spending toward services that actually improve access and outcomes.

 

  • We can make life changing medications affordable to more patients by ensuring the existing Boards are successful and urging other states to follow their lead.
  • Thanks to the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the federal government is finally able to negotiate the prices Medicare pays for some prescription drugs. 

 

  • The first batch of negotiated prices were agreed to in 2024, and are slated to go into effect in January 2026.

 

  • We need to make sure the federal government and pharmaceutical companies stay true to this timeline, and work to stop any efforts to weaken or derail the next round of negotiations to allow this program to help as many Medicare patients as possible.
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Address Unchecked Hospital Consolidation & Unfair Pricing

Over the past decade, we have witnessed a dramatic acceleration in health care consolidation, with large hospital systems acquiring independent physician practices at an alarming and unsustainable pace. Nearly four in five physicians are now employed by hospitals/health systems or corporate entities, and nearly six in ten practices are owned by these same entities.

Fewer independent practices leads to less patient choice and competition and drives patients toward more expensive hospital-owned outpatient departments. As these billions in health care costs accumulate for patients, insurance premiums increase for everyone.

There are bipartisan ways that Congress can take action to decrease health care costs for patients right now:

  • Big hospital systems are buying up small physician practices and then charging patients more to receive the same care there. When an independent practice is reclassified as a hospital outpatient department, that hospital system can bill Medicare at significantly higher rates — often two or three times more than what would have been paid for the same service in the formerly independent office setting.

 

  • By changing the logos on the door of the physician practices, big hospital systems are making billions more dollars, at the expense of patients.

 

  • Site-neutral payments will ensure that patients pay the same price for the same service, and will save patients billions of dollars.
  • Hospital systems often charge additional “facility fees” on top of the rates they bill for routine health services – even when those services don’t take place in the hospital itself. These fees are often unexpected, unrelated to the care provided, and shift the burden for high administrative costs onto the patient.

 

  • Congress and state legislatures can give patients immediate relief by banning facility fees or restricting what settings and services they can be applied to. Such protections will ensure patients aren’t surprised with unexpected, expensive junk fees unrelated to the care they received.
  • Current billing practices obscure who provides care and where they provide it by relying on the national provider identifier (NPI) for a hospital’s main campus or billing office rather than the off-campus office where a patient received care. 

 

  • Congress should require unique NPIs to promote transparency, accountability, and efficiency within the healthcare system.
Take Action ›››

TAKE ACTION

Help us amplify physician voices in the fight for affordable care.

Select an action below for instructions and more information:

Record a brief video explaining why you are demanding an Affordability Agenda. Your message will help highlight why these issues matter to so many doctors and patients across the country.

We plan to compile these testimonials into a larger video for YouTube, with shorter clips shared on social media to spread awareness.

How to Record Your Video

Tips for recording and what to say:

  • Begin your video with, “As a [doctor, or insert speciality], I’m calling for an Affordability Agenda because…”
  • Your message should be simple and personal. Share why you feel it’s important to advocate for your patients outside your exam room, and how the health care affordability crisis impacts your patients and your ability to provide care.
  • Keep it short!

 

Submit Your Video

By submitting your video, you agree to allow us to use it, including your name, title and speciality, in our public communications. Thank you for taking this additional step to fight for your patients!

Your First Name: *
Your Last Name: *
Medical Title (e.g. MD, DO): *
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Upload your video file: *
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IN THE NEWS

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TAKE ACTION:

PHYSICIAN ACTION ALERT!

HOLD YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ACCOUNTABLE FOR CUTTING MEDICAID

Trump’s Medicaid Cuts passed, but the fight isn’t over.

If your representative voted to kick up to 17 million people off their health care, let them know the harm they’ve caused. If they stood with patients and voted against the bill, they deserve to hear your gratitude.

Fill out the form below to send emails to your representatives today.