Brewer vetoes health care price bill

April 12, 2013

Governor Jan Brewer has vetoed a bill that would have required certain health care providers to have lists of what some of their services cost.The bill would have applied to at least the 25 most common services and would have required providers to post their direct pay price.

In her veto letter, Brewer wrote that while she supports price and quality of care transparency in health care, she was concerned about the bill’s practical and potential legal implications.

Specifically, the governor pointed to what she called the “overly broad” definition of health care facility, which includes those that do not serve the general public, like Veterans Affairs hospitals and tribal facilities.She pointed out some of those also don’t charge cash for their services.

The bill had passed both the House and Senate, generally with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed.