Bill · S. 4027· Senate(119-S-4027)
Healthy Competition for Better Care Act
- Introduced
- 3/9/2026
- Last activity
- 3/9/2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Sponsored by
- Jon Husted
- Cosponsors
- None
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill is titled the Healthy Competition for Better Care Act. It targets facility and insurance contracts that limit access to better quality and lower cost care. The legislation bans certain anticompetitive terms in these contracts. It amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The bill also gives states an option to grandfather certain older agreements under specific conditions. Finally, it requires the relevant government secretaries to issue regulations within one year of enactment.
Yes· 3 of 33
Does this give people more protection from unfair business practices?+6
The bill protects consumers by prohibiting anticompetitive contract terms that artificially inflate healthcare pricing and restrict network choices.
Would households on low incomes be better off under this?+5
Lower-income households stand to gain significantly from cost reductions and fairer pricing practices in health insurance plans.
Would middle-income households be better off under this?+5
Middle-class households benefit through decreased medical and insurance costs enabled by the elimination of anticompetitive clauses.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Under Section 2, the bill stops group health plans and health insurance issuers from entering into agreements that restrict them from steering participants to other health care providers or offering incentives to use specific providers. This could help people find higher quality and lower cost care by giving plans more freedom.
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Under Section 2, the legislation bans agreements that force a health plan to enter into extra contracts with an affiliate of a covered entity, or agree to payment rates for affiliates not part of the agreement. This provision prevents hidden bundling of services that could drive up costs for everyday people.
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Under Section 2, the bill prohibits agreements that stop other health plans from paying a lower rate for items or services than the plan involved in the agreement pays. This helps protect the public by ensuring that pricing remains competitive rather than artificially inflated.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Under Section 2, the bill allows an applicable state authority to exempt certain specified agreements executed on June 19, 2019, and related agreements from these new prohibitions for up to ten years. This means some people living in those states might have to wait up to a decade before seeing the competitive benefits of this law in their current health plans.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Low Income Households+5Good For Middle Class Households+5Good For Business Owners+4Good For Children+4Good For Middle Aged+4Good For People With Disabilities+4Good For Retirees+4Good For Seniors+4Good For Union Workers+4Good For Young Adults+4Good For African Americans+3Good For Hispanic Americans+3Good For Men+3Good For Rural Residents+3Good For Women+3Good For Asian Americans+2Good For Farmers+2Good For High Income Households+2Good For Immigrants+2Good For Native Americans+2Good For Students+2Good For Urban Residents+2Good For Veterans+2Good For White Americans+2
- Healthcare
- Improves Healthcare Access+5Reduces Hospital Costs+5Reduces Private Insurance Premiums+5
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Interstate Commerce+4Improves Government Transparency+3Increase States Rights+3Increases Federal Power+2
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Consumer Protection+6Reduces Inflation+3
- 3/9/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.