Bill · S. 729· Senate(119-S-729)
Hospital Transparency Compliance Enforcement Act
- Introduced
- 2/25/2025
- Last activity
- 2/25/2025 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Sponsored by
- John Kennedy
- Cosponsors
- None
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Hospital Transparency Compliance Enforcement Act aims to amend the Public Health Service Act to improve compliance with hospital price transparency. It requires all operating hospitals to establish and update a public list of prices every year. New hospitals must also comply within six months of starting operations. The bill includes a prohibition against using webpage coding to hide this information from online search results. To ensure compliance, the bill establishes specific civil monetary penalties based on hospital bed counts. Finally, the Secretary is required to publish a list of hospitals that are not in compliance.
Yes· 3 of 7
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?+7
The bill increases transparency by requiring the Secretary to publish a list of non-compliant hospitals.
Does this give people more protection from unfair business practices?+6
The bill protects consumers by requiring hospitals to provide clear, searchable, and updated price lists.
Would households on low incomes be better off under this?+5
Price transparency helps low-income households make more informed financial decisions regarding medical costs.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Improved Information Access: The bill prohibits hospitals from using webpage coding to shield required information from online search results, which ensures people can actually find price information online (Section 2, paragraph 3).
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Increased Accountability: The Secretary of Health and Human Services is required to publish a list of hospital names that are not complying with transparency requirements every 180 days, providing public notice of non-compliant facilities (Section 2, paragraph 5).
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Predictable Pricing Data: Hospitals are required to establish and update their public price lists annually, ensuring that the information available to the public remains current (Section 2, paragraph 2, subparagraph A).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Financial Burdens on Hospitals: Hospitals that fail to comply face significant civil monetary penalties, which are calculated based on the number of beds. For example, hospitals with more than 550 beds could be fined up to $11,000 for each day they fail to comply (Section 2, paragraph 4, subparagraph A).
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Financial Burdens on Smaller Hospitals: Even smaller facilities face daily fines, such as $600 per day for hospitals with 30 or fewer beds (Section 2, paragraph 4, subparagraph A, clause i).
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 Urban Residents+2
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+7
- Healthcare
- Improves Healthcare Access+4Reduces Hospital Costs+3
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Consumer Protection+6
- 2/25/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Introduced in Senate