| Course | HA 610 Health Policy and Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 6 |
| Paper type | Legislative testimony statement |
| Length | About 780 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | MS in Healthcare Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HA 610 Unit 6
Three Minutes Before a State Senate Health Committee: Testimony in Support of a Price Transparency Bill, Written to Be Spoken
Student Name
Health Care Administration, Herzing University
HA 610: Health Policy and Management
Instructor Name
February 20, 2026
Three Minutes Before a State Senate Health Committee: Testimony in Support of a Price Transparency Bill, Written to Be Spoken
Setting
The statement is for a hearing on a composite state bill, Senate Bill 214, which would require hospitals in the state to post negotiated prices as dollar amounts, give the state health department power to check compliance, and require a written good-faith estimate within two business days for any planned service. The speaker is the vice president of finance at the composite 180-bed community hospital used throughout this course. Testimony is limited to three minutes. The text below is the statement as it would be spoken, followed by brief notes on its construction.
The Statement
Chair, members of the committee, thank you.
I am the vice president of finance at [Composite] Community Hospital. We are a 180-bed nonprofit hospital. We serve about 110,000 people.
I am here to ask you to pass Senate Bill 214, with one amendment. Give hospitals two years to convert contracts that pay by percentage into dollar prices.
Let me tell you why we support this bill.
Last spring, a woman in our county needed an MRI of her knee. She is a school bus driver. She has a high-deductible plan. She went to our website, and our estimator said about $1,200. The bill she received was $4,800.
The estimator was not wrong on purpose. Her insurer pays us a percentage of our list price for that scan. The percentage does not show up as a dollar figure on the website. So she could not know.
She called us. She was upset, and she was right to be.
That is the problem this bill fixes. A percentage is not a price. A dollar amount is.
Federal rules already require hospitals to post prices. But posting is not the same as useful. National research has found hospitals quoting different prices online and on the phone for the same service. More than half of hospitals had not posted negotiated prices months after the federal rule began.
This year, federal rules add new data about percentage contracts. That helps. It still does not give a patient one number.
Senate Bill 214 would. It would also give patients a written estimate within two business days, which is what our bus driver needed.
Now, the amendment. Five of our fourteen insurance contracts pay by percentage. We cannot change them overnight. They renew at different times over the next two years. If the bill takes effect in one year, we will be forced to calculate dollar prices from terms that were never built to produce them. Two years lets us renegotiate to fixed prices. That is better for patients, too.
We are ready to do this. We are already moving our contracts to fixed prices as they renew.
Please pass Senate Bill 214 with a two-year phase-in for percentage contracts.
Thank you. I will answer anything you would like to ask.
Notes on Construction
The ask comes early. A chair may cut a witness off at any point, so the bill number, the position, and the amendment are all stated within the first twenty seconds.
One case carries the human weight. The school bus driver is a composite, built from the kinds of complaints our patient financial services team receives. Her story is told in eight short sentences, with one number that surprises. Legislators remember a person more readily than a percentage.
Evidence is spoken, not cited aloud. The written version submitted to the committee would include sources: the study of 60 hospitals that found differences between online and telephone prices (Thomas et al., 2023), the national compliance study showing that most hospitals had still not published insurer-negotiated rates by mid-2021 (Jiang et al., 2022), and the 2026 federal rule that adds percentile data for percentage-based contracts (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2025).
The amendment is explained in plain words and tied back to patients, so it does not sound like a hospital asking for a delay for its own convenience.
Sentences are short enough to say in one breath. Numbers are rounded where precision would not help a listener, and kept exact where the exact figure is the point.
Anticipated Questions
"Why should we give hospitals two years?" Because contracts renew at different times, and a fixed-price contract is better than a calculated estimate we have to attest to. "Will prices go up if everyone can see them?" Possibly in some markets, which is why transparency works best with competition enforcement; but patients cannot shop at all without prices. "What will this cost you?" About $185,000 in the first year, which we have already budgeted.
References
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2025). Medicare program: Hospital outpatient prospective payment and ambulatory surgical center payment systems; quality reporting programs; overall hospital quality star rating; hospital price transparency; and notice of closure of a teaching hospital and opportunity to apply for available slots. Federal Register, 90, 53448. https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2025-20907
Jiang, J. X., Polsky, D., Littlejohn, J., Wang, Y., Zare, H., & Bai, G. (2022). Factors associated with compliance to the hospital price transparency final rule: A national landscape study. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(14), 3577-3584. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-021-07237-y
Thomas, M., Flaherty, J., Wang, J., Henderson, M., Ho, V., Cuban, M., & Cram, P. (2023). Comparison of hospital online price and telephone price for shoppable services. JAMA Internal Medicine, 183(11), 1214-1219. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.4753
The Herzing HA 610 Unit 6 instructions
Unit 6 asks you to write testimony for a legislative hearing on a health policy bill. Expect to describe the setting, write the statement to fit a time limit, explain the choices behind its construction and prepare for likely questions. Students often ask how long testimony should be and what to put first. Three minutes is about 400 spoken words. State your name, organization, bill number and position in the first sentences, because a chair may stop a witness early. Make one main point with evidence and one specific request. Prepare short answers to likely questions from members on both sides. Avoid jargon, since legislators, staff and the public all listen. Bring a written copy for the record, since it can carry detail the spoken version cannot.
How the HA 610 Unit 6 example is put together
The statement opens with thanks to the chair, the witness's name and role, the bill number and the hospital's support with one amendment. The body gives two reasons: patients need dollar prices to compare care, and contracts take time to convert. One local example, a patient comparing imaging costs, makes the point concrete. The ask, a two-year phase-in, comes before the final minute. The closing thanks the committee and offers written data. The construction notes explain each choice, such as putting the amendment early. The questions section answers three likely questions briefly. Read aloud, the statement fits three minutes. A longer written statement with data tables is attached for the record, so the spoken version can stay short.
Where the points sit in the HA 610 Unit 6 rubric
Herzing's rubric for testimony usually covers identification and position, clarity of argument, evidence, the request, fit to the time limit and preparation for questions. An early position and a specific request carry the most weight, since a witness may be cut off before finishing. Argument points reward one clear main point rather than several weak ones. Evidence criteria look for local data or a concrete example. Time fit earns credit when the statement can be read aloud in three minutes. Question preparation is often credited, especially answers for members who oppose the bill. Plain language is expected. An offer of written follow-up is usually well received.
HA 610 Unit 6 help: mistakes that cost points
Testimony in HA 610 Unit 6 commonly loses points by running past the time limit. Another frequent problem is stating the position at the end. Students often use jargon, such as machine-readable files, without explanation. Evidence is national only, though legislators care about their state. Questions are not anticipated. The request is vague, such as support transparency. The statement reads like a paper rather than spoken words. Thanks and identification are missing. No written follow-up is offered. Finally, put the bill and your position first, because graders reward testimony that would still work if the chair stopped you after one minute. Another gap is forgetting to register to testify in advance, which some committees require.
Get a HA 610 Unit 6 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 6 instructions and the rubric from your HA 610 classroom, along with the bill or rule, the committee, and the time limit your section sets. We write a custom example sized to be spoken, with one case, sourced figures and the hostile question answered, returned in 24 to 48 hours. The first custom sample is free.
More HA 610 papers and healthcare administration samples
- HA 610 Unit 1: Policy brief
- HA 610 Unit 2: Legislative analysis
- HA 610 Unit 3: Regulatory impact memo
- HA 610 Unit 4: Stakeholder position paper
- HA 610 Unit 5: Public comment letter
- HA 610 Unit 7: Advocacy plan
- HA 610 Unit 8: Policy recommendation memo
- HA 645 Unit 6: Run chart analysis
- HA 695 Unit 6: Post-implementation evaluation plan
- HA 620 Unit 6: Capital request proposal
- HA 625 Unit 6: Fraud and abuse audit plan
HA 610 Unit 6 questions, answered
How is testimony graded if nobody hears it?
Graders read it as a spoken document, which means the qualities that make it work aloud are exactly what the rubric looks for: an early ask, plain sentences, sourced figures and a clear close. Some sections also require a recording or a live delivery in class. Check the instructions, because a statement written for silent reading rarely survives being spoken.
Can I testify as myself rather than for an organization?
Both are legitimate and the instructions usually say which. Speaking for an organization brings standing and numbers behind you; speaking as an individual clinician or administrator brings direct experience, which committees often find more memorable. Whichever you choose, say it in the first sentence, since a committee weighs testimony partly by who is speaking and on whose behalf.
What if the hearing on my issue already happened?
That is usually an advantage. Past hearings are recorded and their written submissions are posted, so you can read what the committee already heard, what members asked and where the argument stalled. Write your statement as though delivered at that hearing, and let the questions members actually raised shape the objection you answer inside it.
Where can I find a free HA 610 Unit 6 sample paper?
Read the complete HA 610 Unit 6 testimony here at no charge, three minutes for a state price transparency bill with prepared answers. Ask for custom testimony on another bill.
How long is legislative testimony usually?
Often two to three minutes per witness, about 300 to 400 spoken words. This sample fits three minutes and puts the bill number, position and amendment in the opening sentences.