,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dgde  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september #bi1
 #bjbj,ms4 ,smith 7for herself1 ,mrs4   
,murray1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,ms4 ,hirono1  
,ms4 ,hassan1 and ,ms4 ,klobuchar7      
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,health1 ,education1      
,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
prevent surprise medical bills with     
respect to ,,covid-#ai testing4  #a4    
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,stop ,,covid-#ai ,test ,surprise   
,medical ,bills ,act of #bjbj4  #b4     
,medical management ,section #fjja of   
the ,families ,first ,coronavirus       
,response ,act 7,public ,law #aaf-abg7  
is amended by adding at the end the     
following3  7e7 ,medical management ,for
 purposes of this section1 the term     
medical management includes             
determinations about why an individual  
sought testing1 the nature of the       
clinical assessment that was associated 

with the testing1 whether the individual
 was showing symptoms1 what provider    
ordered the testing1 the frequency of   
testing obtained by the individual1 and 
other reviews of the encounters or      
events that proceeded or followed a     
service described in subsection 7a74    
,such term does not include reasonable  
efforts by a group health plan or health
 insurance issuer to encourage          
individuals to obtain tests from lower  
priced providers 7provided that such    
reasonable efforts do not delay or      
otherwise impede access to testing74  4 
#c4 ,improvements to transparency policy
  7a7 ,in general ,section #cbjb of the 
,,cares ,act 7,public ,law #aaf-acf7 is 
amended by adding at the end the        
following3  7c7 ,improvements to        
transparency policy ,not later than #cj 
days after the date of enactment of this
 subsection1 the ,secretary of ,health  
and ,human ,services shall survey a     
sample of providers of the items and    
services described in section #fjja7;a7 

of division ,f of the ,families ,first  
,coronavirus ,response ,act 7,public    
,law #aaf-abg7 regarding the cash prices
 for such items and services as listed  
by the providers on a public internet   
website4 ,the ,secretary shall survey no
 fewer than #bjj providers representing 
a diversity of sizes1 geographic        
locations1 test types1 and care settings
 7such as hospitals1 laboratories1 and  
free-standing emergency rooms74  7d7    
,public report ,not later than #de days 
after the date of enactment of this     
subsection1 the ,secretary of ,health   
and ,human ,services shall publish a    
report on cash prices for items and     
services published under subsection     
7b77#a71 which shall include-- 7#a7 the 
compliance rate of providers with the   
cash price publication requirement under
 subsection 7b77#a72  7#b7 the average  
cash price for each item and service    
described in section #fjja7;a7 of       
division ,f of the ,families ,first     
,coronavirus ,response ,act 7,public    

,law #aaf-abg7 and published under      
subsection 7b77#a72  7#c7 with respect  
to each such item and service1 a        
comparison of such average cash price to
 the reimbursement rate under the       
,medicare program under title ,,xviii of
 the ,social ,security ,act 7#db        
,u4,s4,c4 #acie et seq472 and  7#d7 any 
outlier cash prices published under     
subsection 7b77#a7 7including the names 
of the providers charging such prices7  
that substantially exceed the average   
cash price4  4  #d4 ,guidance on billing
 for provider visits associated with    
,,covid-#ai testing ,the ,secretary of  
,health and ,human ,services1 the       
,secretary of ,labor1 and the ,secretary
 of the ,treasury1 shall jointly issue  
guidance1 not later than #cj days after 
the date of enactment of this ,act for  
purposes of clarifying-- 7#a7 the       
process for submitting claims for items 
and services described in section       
#fjja7;a7 of the ,families ,first       
,coronavirus ,response ,act 7,public    

,law #aaf-abg7 to ensure that           
individuals enrolled in individual or   
group health insurance coverage or group
 health plans to whom such items and    
services are furnished are not subject  
to cost-sharing or prior authorization  
or other medical management             
requirements2 and  7#b7 that providers  
should not collect cost-sharing amounts 
from individuals seeking items and      
services described in section #fjja7;a7 
of such ,act4