,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dajf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #cj1     
#bjbj,mr4 ,braun 7for himself1 ,mr4     
,kennedy1 ,mrs4 ,loeffler1 ,mr4         
,grassley1 ,mr4 ,enzi1 ,ms4 ,ernst1 and 
,mr4 ,barrasso7 introduced the following
 bill2 which was read twice and referred
 to the ,committee on ,health1          
,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a   
,,bill  ,to amend the ,public ,health   
,service ,act to provide for hospital   
and insurer price transparency4  #a4    
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,health ,care ,prices ,revealed and 
,information to ,consumers ,explained   
,transparency ,act or the ,health ,care 
,,price ,transparency ,act4  #b4 ,price 
transparency requirements  7a7          
,hospitals ,section #bgah7;e7 of the    
,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4  #cjj;gg-#ah7;e77 is amended--
 7#a7 by striking ,each hospital and    
inserting the following3  7#a7 ,in      
general ,each hospital  2  7#b7 by      

inserting 1 in a machine-readable       
format1 via open application program    
interfaces 7,a,p,is7 after a list2  7#c7
 by inserting 1 along with such         
additional information as the ,secretary
 may require with respect to such       
charges for purposes of promoting public
 awareness of hospital pricing in       
advance of receiving a hospital item or 
service before the period2 and  7#d7 by 
adding at the end the following3  7#b7  
,definition of standard charges         
,notwithstanding any other provision of 
law1 for purposes of paragraph 7#a71 the
 term standard charges means the rates  
hospitals1 including providers or       
entities that contract with or practice 
at a hospital1 charge for all items and 
services at a minimum1 chargemaster     
rates1 rates that hospitals negotiate   
with third party payers across all      
plans1 including those related to a     
patient's specific plan1 discounted cash
 prices1 and other rates determined by  
the ,secretary4  7#c7 ,enforcement ,in  

addition to any other enforcement       
actions or penalties that may apply     
under subsection 7b77#c7 or another     
provision of law1 a hospital that fails 
to provide the information required by  
this subsection and has not completed a 
corrective action plan to comply with   
the requirements of such subsection     
shall be subject to a civil monetary    
penalty of an amount not to exceed #cjj 
per day that the violation is ongoing as
 determined by the ,secretary4 ,such    
penalty shall be imposed and collected  
in the same manner as civil money       
penalties under subsection 7a7 of       
section #aabh;,a of the ,social         
,security ,act are imposed and          
collected4  4  7b7 ,transparency in     
coverage ,section #acaa7;e77#c7 of the  
,patient ,protection and ,affordable    
,care ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4               
#ahjca7;e77#c77 is amended-- 7#a7 in    
subparagraph 7,a7-- 7,a7 in clause      
7vii71 by inserting before the period   
the following3 1 including1 for all     

items and services covered under the    
plan1 aggregate information on specific 
payments the plan has made to           
out-of-network health care providers on 
behalf of plan enrollees2 and  7,b7 by  
designating clause 7ix7 as clause 7x72  
and  7,c7 by inserting after clause     
7viii71 the following3  7ix7            
,information on the specific negotiated 
payment rates between the plan and      
health care providers for all items and 
services covered under the plan4  2     
7#b7 in subparagraph 7,b7-- 7,a7 in the 
heading1 by striking use and inserting  
delivery methods and use2  7,b7 by      
inserting 1 as applicable1 after        
,english proficiency2 and  7,c7 by      
inserting after the second sentence1 the
 following3 ,the ,secretary shall       
establish standards for electronic      
delivery and access to such information 
by individuals1 free of charge1 in      
machine readable format1 through an     
internet website and via open ,a,p,is42 
7#c7 in subparagraph 7,c7-- 7,a7 in the 

first sentence1 by inserting or         
out-of-network provider after item or   
service by a participating provider2    
7,b7 in the second sentence1 by striking
 through an internet website and        
inserting free of charge1 in machine    
readable format1 through an internet    
website1 and via open ,a,p,is1 in       
accordance with standards established by
 the ,secretary12 and  7,c7 by adding at
 the end the following3 ,such           
information shall include specific      
negotiated rates that allow for         
comparison between providers and across 
plans1 and related to a patient's       
specific plan1 including after an       
enrollee has exceeded their deductible  
responsibility42 and  7#d7 in           
subparagraph 7,d7 by striking           
subparagraph 7,a7 and inserting         
subparagraphs 7,a71 7,b71 and 7,c74