WASHINGTON – Consumers for Quality Care (CQC) has prepared and distributed a “Cut Consumer Costs” Guide to the Democratic presidential candidates. The guide is intended to give candidates and decisionmakers a clearer understanding of how they can help lower consumer costs and increase transparency in the health care system. The guide is accompanied by real consumer stories, which demonstrate the burden of health care failures on consumers.

“Consumers are deeply frustrated by unpredictable costs and the lack of transparency in health care. What we’ve found is that anti-consumer practices employed by insurers, the lack of transparency in hospital pricing and increasing out-of-pocket costs for prescription medications are major pain points for consumers across the country. Even more harmful are surprise medical bills, which continue to affect consumers when they least expect it. This guide highlights the impact of these health care failures on consumers and points to solutions elected officials can implement to allow for increased transparency and lower costs,” CQC board members wrote to the candidates.

Throughout the presidential campaign, CQC is providing consumers with the tools to raise their voices and call for increased transparency and lower costs in health care while highlighting real consumer stories from around the country, including Texas, Illinois, Florida, and Washington, as part of the recently-launched #HealthCareFail campaign. CQC is featuring these stories online and through social media using the hashtags #InsuranceFail, #MedicalBillingFail, #HospitalFail, and #RxFail.