,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #acbf ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #ba1 #bjac ,mr4 ,burgess 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,gene ,green of ,texas1 and ,mr4 ,carter7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to amend title ,,xix of the ,social ,security ,act to provide for increased price transparency of hospital information and to provide for additional research on consumer information on charges and out-of-pocket costs4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,health ,care ,price ,transparency ,promotion ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,increasing the transparency of information on hospital charges and making available information on estimated out-of-pocket costs for health care services 7a7 ,in general ,title ,,xix of the ,social ,security ,act is amended-- 7#a7 in section #aijb7;a7 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acif;a7a771 by inserting after paragraph 7#gg7 the following new paragraph3 7#gh7 provide that the ,state will establish and maintain laws1 in accordance with the requirements of section #aiba;,a1 to require disclosure of information on hospital charges1 to make such information available to the public1 and to provide individuals with information about estimated out-of-pocket costs for health care services2 2 and 7#b7 by inserting after section #aiba 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acifr-#b7 the following new section3 #aiba;,a4 ,increasing the transparency of information on hospital charges and providing consumers with estimates of out-of-pocket costs for health care services 7a7 ,in general ,the requirements referred to in section #aijb7;a77#gh7 are that the laws of a ,state must-- 7#a7 in accordance with subsection 7b7-- 7,a7 require the disclosure of information on hospital charges2 and 7,b7 provide for access to such information2 and 7#b7 in accordance with subsection 7c71 require the provision of a statement of the estimated out-of-pocket costs of an individual for anticipated future health care services4 7b7 ,information on hospital charges ,the laws of a ,state must-- 7#a7 require disclosure1 by each hospital located in the ,state1 of information on the charges for certain inpatient and outpatient hospital services 7as determined by the ,state7 provided at the hospital2 and 7#b7 provide for timely access to such information by individuals seeking or requiring such services4 7c7 ,estimated out-of-,pocket costs ,the laws of a ,state must require that1 upon the request of any individual with health insurance coverage sponsored by a health insurance issuer1 the issuer must provide a statement of the estimated out-of-pocket costs that are likely to be incurred by the individual if the individual receives particular health care items and services within a specified period of time4 7d7 ,rules of construction ,nothing in this section shall be construed as-- 7#a7 authorizing or requiring the ,secretary to establish uniform standards for the ,state laws required by subsections 7b7 and 7c72 7#b7 requiring any ,state with a law enacted on or before the date of the enactment of this section that-- 7,a7 meets the requirements of subsection 7b7 or subsection 7c7 to modify or amend such law2 or 7,b7 meets some but not all of the requirements of subsection 7b7 or subsection 7c7 to modify or amend such law except to the extent necessary to address the unmet requirements2 7#c7 precluding any ,state in which a program of voluntary disclosure of information on hospital charges is in effect from adopting a law codifying such program 7other than its voluntary nature7 to satisfy the requirement of subsection 7b77#a72 or 7#d7 guaranteeing that the out-of-pocket costs of an individual will not exceed the estimate of such costs provided pursuant to subsection 7c74 7e7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this section3 7#a7 ,the term health insurance coverage has the meaning given such term in section #bgia7;b77#a7 of the ,public ,health ,service ,act4 7#b7 ,the term health insurance issuer has the meaning given such term in section #bgia7;b77#b7 of the ,public ,health ,service ,act1 except that such term also includes-- 7,a7 a ,medicaid managed care organization 7as defined in section #aijc7m772 and 7,b7 a ,medicare ,advantage organization 7as defined in #ahei7;a77#a71 taking into account the operation of section #bja7;b7 of the ,medicare ,prescription ,drug1 ,improvement1 and ,modernization ,act of #bjjc74 ,section #ahef7;b77#c7 shall not preclude the application to a ,medicare ,advantage organization or a ,medicare ,advantage plan offered by such an organization of any ,state law adopted to carry out the requirements of subsection 7b7 or 7c74 7#c7 ,the term hospital means an institution that meets the requirements of paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#g7 of section #ahfa7;e7 and includes those to which section #ahbj7;c7 applies4 4 7b7 ,effective date 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in paragraph 7#b71 the amendments made by subsection 7a7 shall take effect on ,october #a1 #bjad4 7#b7 ,exception ,in the case of a ,state plan for medical assistance under title ,,xix of the ,social ,security ,act which the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services determines requires ,state legislation 7other than legislation appropriating funds7 in order for the plan to meet the additional requirements imposed by the amendment made by subsection 7a71 the ,state plan shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the requirements of such title solely on the basis of its failure to meet these additional requirements before the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the close of the first regular session of the ,state legislature that begins after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 ,for purposes of the previous sentence1 in the case of a ,state that has a #b-year legislative session1 each year of such session shall be deemed to be a separate regular session of the ,state legislature4 #c4 ,research on information valued by consumers on charges and out-of-pocket costs for health care services 7a7 ,research on information valued and used by consumers ,the ,director of the ,agency for ,healthcare ,research and ,quality 7in this section referred to as ,,ahrq7 shall conduct or support research1 pursuant to section #ija7;b77#a77;,d7 of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bii7;b77#a77;,d771 on-- 7#a7 the types of information on the charges1 and out-of-pocket costs1 for health care services that individuals find useful in making decisions about where1 when1 and from whom to receive care2 7#b7 how the types of information valued by individuals for making such decisions vary by whether they have health benefits coverage and1 if they do1 the type of such coverage they have1 such as traditional insurance1 health maintenance organizations1 preferred provider organizations1 and high deductible plans coupled with health savings accounts2 and 7#c7 ways in which such information may be made available on a timely basis and in easy-to-understand form to individuals facing such decisions4 7b7 ,report ,the ,director of ,,ahrq shall report to the ,congress on the results of such research not later than #ah months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 together with recommendations for ways in which the ,federal ,government can assist the ,states in achieving the objective specified in subsection 7a77#c74 7c7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section4