Mayor Eric Adams is slated to sign a bill into law that would create a new office within City Hall aimed at cracking down on disparate hospital prices.
“We know that many New Yorkers, working New Yorkers in particular, are struggling and living from paycheck to paycheck,” Adams said Thursday before planning to sign the legislation Friday creating a new “Office of Healthcare Accountability” within municipal government, sponsored by Councilwoman Julie Menin (D-Upper East Side).
“They shouldn’t have to break the bank to get the health care they need, and New Yorkers’ credit cards shouldn’t determine their health care access. We want to make sure that there is cost transparency in our health care system,” he added.
The new law will take effect in about eight months and will require staff to prepare reports on hospital procedure, insurance and pharmaceutical costs.
The bill passed earlier this month in an effort to create greater transparency among surgeries performed among private and city-run hospital facilities.