# Health Care PRICE Transparency Act

This bill requires health insurance companies and healthcare providers to make their prices much more transparent and accessible to patients before they receive care. Right now, when you need medical treatment, it's nearly impossible to find out what you'll actually be charged beforehand. The bill aims to fix that by requiring insurance companies to publicly disclose what they pay providers for specific procedures, and requiring hospitals and doctors to tell patients upfront what their out-of-pocket costs will be.

The practical impact is significant for anyone with health insurance. Before scheduling a surgery, getting imaging done, or visiting a specialist, you'd be able to look up what that procedure costs at different facilities in your area. This lets you shop around for better prices, similar to how you might compare prices before buying anything else. Insurance companies would have to provide this information in an easy-to-use format, not buried in complicated documents. For patients, this could mean finding a provider that charges less, potentially saving hundreds or thousands of dollars on a single procedure.

The bill also affects healthcare providers and insurance companies, requiring them to invest in systems to track and share pricing data. This transparency is meant to create competition on price, which supporters argue will help bring down healthcare costs overall. However, the real-world effectiveness depends on how well the information gets communicated and whether patients actually use it to make decisions. The goal is straightforward: give everyday people the same pricing information that insurance companies already have, so they can make informed choices about their healthcare instead of being surprised by bills after the fact.

Health Care PRICE Transparency Act

Braun, Mike

Health Care Prices Revealed and Information to Consumers Explained Transparency Act or the Health Care PRICE Transparency Act This bill provides statutory authority for requirements for hospitals and health insurance plans to disclose certain information about the costs for items and services. Specifically, hospitals must publish in their list of standard charges certain rates negotiated with insurers, discounts for cash payments, and billing codes. Further, hospitals generally must publish the standard charges for the services provided by the hospital that may be scheduled in advance. Additionally, insurance plans must publish the in-network and out-of-network charges for covered items and services and the negotiated prices for covered prescription drugs. Plans must provide a tool for consumers to search for this cost information. Consumers also may request additional information about the costs of specific items or services under their plans.