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A new bipartisan bill focused on increasing price transparency requirements is heading the United States Senate. The bill is named the Health Care PRICE Transparency Act 2.0 and aims to “expand price transparency requirements to ASCs, clinical diagnostic centers, and imaging centers,” according to Becker’s. Additionally, the law would require these locations to make all negotiated rates and cash prices accessible for patients.
More than 300 services would fall under these new requirements, with a deadline for publishing prices set for 2025. Annual maximum penalties for non-compliance would grow to $10 million.
Indiana republican senator Mike Braun initially brought forth the bill, which currently has the backing of fellow senators Bernie Sanders (VT-D), Chuck Grassley (IA-R), Tina Smith (MN-D), and John Hickenlooper (CO-D)
“It’s wrong that the same procedure can be 20 times more expensive in one hospital than in another, and there’s no other industry where consumers are in the dark on the price of what they’re buying,” Sen. Braun said in a press release on his website. “Knowing what healthcare services cost will lower healthcare prices because Americans can shop around and get the best deal rather than relying on insurers to negotiate with providers which drives the price up for everything.
“The Health Care PRICE Transparency Act 2.0 will pull the curtain back and put the power back in the hands of the American people, introducing real market competition into the health care industry and bringing down prices.”
To view the full release from Sen. Braun’s website, click here.
RESOURCES:
Senator Mike Braun: https://www.braun.senate.gov/news/press-releases/braun-sanders-grassley-smith-hickenlooper-introduce-landmark-bill-to-reveal-health-care-prices-for-americans/
