This bill establishes the Health Care Cost Containment and Price Transparency Commission and the Office of Healthcare Affordability and Transparency within the Department of Health, aimed at addressing health care cost growth and enhancing price transparency. The Office will support the Commission by providing necessary infrastructure and expertise, while also establishing guidelines for health care entities to submit data for evaluating total health care expenditures and pricing information. The Commission, consisting of 18 members, will monitor and analyze health care prices, set benchmarks for cost growth and hospital pricing, and impose civil penalties on entities that exceed these benchmarks or fail to comply with corrective action plans.

Additionally, the bill mandates that hospitals comply with federal price transparency requirements and prohibits them from collecting medical debts from patients if they are not in compliance at the time services are provided. Hospitals that violate these provisions will incur civil penalties of $10 per day per bed. The bill appropriates up to $5 million from the General Fund to support the Office's activities, with the Commissioner of Health responsible for determining the exact amount needed. The act is set to take effect 180 days after enactment.