Bipartisan bill to increase hospital pricing transparency passes state House
Rep. Tarik Khan July 11, 2024 | 3:40 PM
HARRISBURG, July 11 – A bipartisan bill to increase hospital pricing transparency passed the House Thursday, according to its sponsors Reps. Tarik Khan, D-Phila.; David Rowe, R-Snyder/Union/Mifflin/Juniata; Benjamin Sanchez, D-Montgomery; K.C. Tomlinson, R-Bucks; Jim Prokopiak, D-Bucks; and Dawn Keefer, R-York.
House Bill 2339 would provide state-level oversight based on current federal requirements from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and require hospitals to maintain a publicly available list of all standard charges for hospital items and services. Under the bill, hospitals would be required to display their lists free of charge in a prominent location on the home page of their publicly accessible website.
Upon the bill’s 168-34 passage in the House, the representatives issued the following statements.
“As a nurse practitioner, all too often my patients are left in the dark on the cost of basic hospital services. This contributes to surprise hospital bills and patient medical debt,” Khan said. “Pennsylvania lags far behind other states for patients and employers to be able to shop around for healthcare. I was proud to work on this bipartisan effort with Rep. Rowe and colleagues to pass this pro-patient, pro-business and pro-consumer bill in the PA House!”
“Health care comprises 20% of the United States’ economy, and there’s currently no functional market for consumers to compare prices and make informed decisions about where they receive medical treatment,” Rowe said. “You can drive across town to make sure you’re getting the best deal on a car, but there’s currently no way to shop around for where you receive medical procedures where the cost savings could be as much as 700%. This bill will change that for Pennsylvanians.”
“Pennsylvanians have the right to choose health care providers that best suit their needs, and cost plays a huge role in making that decision,” Sanchez said. “Ensuring prices are prominently displayed and easily understood allows people to make informed decisions that allow them to prioritize quality care with respect to their budget. I was happy to work on this bill with colleagues from both sides of the aisle, coming together to crack down on surprise medical bills.”
“I am thrilled to see House Bill 2339 pass,” Tomlinson said. “This will provide much-needed transparency to our health care system and make sure charges will be known and clear for our constituents across the state.”
“Consumers deserve transparency in the cost of non-emergency hospital care,” Prokopiak said. “House Bill 2339 ensures patients can compare the cost of tests and procedures at different hospitals so they can make informed choices, which in the end, will benefit Pennsylvanians’ pocketbooks.”
“We have worked on this bipartisan bill for over a year to ensure efficacy. While this may not be the silver bullet that stops the sky-rocketing costs of health care, it does provide a critical transparency framework and nothing can be accomplished without transparency,” Keefer said.
House Bill 2339 would also prohibit action from debt collectors for non-compliant hospitals and from reporting the individual’s case to a consumer reporting agency. The representatives feel strongly that Pennsylvania patients should not be subject to collection and reporting actions if a hospital fails to abide by transparency rules.
The legislation now goes to the Senate for consideration where the representatives are hopeful it will continue to garner bipartisan support.