This bill amends Minnesota Statutes to enhance transparency in healthcare pricing and restrict collection actions by medical and dental practices. It requires these practices to publicly disclose their current standard charges for all items and services, as reflected in their chargemaster. The bill introduces a new definition for "collection action" and modifies the revenue thresholds for practices required to disclose their charges, transitioning from a fixed revenue requirement to a tiered approach based on annual revenue over the next few years. Specifically, practices must comply with the disclosure requirements if they exceed $50 million in revenue in 2024, $25 million in 2025, $10 million in 2026, and any amount thereafter.

Additionally, the bill prohibits medical and dental practices from initiating collection actions against patients or guarantors if they are not in material compliance with the disclosure requirements. Patients or guarantors can take legal action if they believe a collection action was pursued in violation of this provision, and courts are mandated to order refunds and penalties if a violation is found. The bill also requires hospitals to certify compliance with the disclosure requirements when pursuing collection actions or referring debts to third-party agencies, ensuring that patients are not unfairly targeted for debts incurred while the hospital was not compliant.

Statutes affected:
Introduction: 62J.826, 144.588