From Montpelier to Albany, lawmakers are turning up the heat on hospital prices, arguing that consolidation and opaque billing are making health coverage feel less like a safety net and more like a luxury good. The new wave of proposals would limit what hospitals can charge insurers and patients, often by tying payments to Medicare rates or by setting “site-neutral” rules so that a basic visit costs the same in a hospital outpatient department as it does in a doctor’s office. Supporters say these caps could knock billions off premiums and out-of-pocket bills. Hospital systems and their allies warn the moves could gut services or wind up decided in court instead of the statehouse. With different states testing different formulas, the fight has jumped from policy papers to…..