The "Hospital Price Transparency Act" seeks to improve healthcare pricing transparency by mandating that hospitals publicly disclose their prices for medical items and services. Hospitals are required to maintain a list of standard charges for all facility items and services, which must be made available on their websites in a machine-readable format. Additionally, hospitals must report their participation in the federal 340B drug pricing program, including acquisition costs and payments received for prescription drugs. The Department of Health is responsible for monitoring compliance and enforcing the act, which includes the imposition of civil penalties for noncompliance.
To promote accountability, the act establishes a framework for penalties and corrective actions for hospitals that fail to comply with its requirements. Facilities that do not respond to notices or adhere to corrective action plans may incur escalating daily fines. The Department of Health will also maintain a publicly accessible list of facilities that violate the act, which will be updated every thirty days starting October 1, 2025. Furthermore, the bill prohibits facilities in material violation of the act from pursuing collection actions against patients for debts incurred during the violation period, allowing patients to file lawsuits if they can prove a violation occurred when services were provided. If a court finds a facility in violation, it must refund payments made by the patient and remove any negative credit reports associated with the debt.
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