S.Amdt. 2614

SA 2614. Mr. BRAUN (for himself, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Enzi)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2499
proposed by Mr. McConnell to the bill S. 178, to condemn gross human
rights violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, and calling for
an end to arbitrary detention, torture, and harassment of these
communities inside and outside China; which was ordered to lie on the
table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. PRICE TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS.

(a) Hospitals.--Section 2718(e) of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. Sec.  300gg-18(e)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Each hospital'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--Each hospital'';
(2) by inserting ``, in a machine-readable format, via open
application program interfaces (APIs)'' after ``a list'';
(3) by inserting ``, 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
period; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Definition of standard charges.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, for purposes of paragraph (1), the
term `standard charges' means the rates hospitals, including
providers or entities that contract with or practice at a
hospital, charge for all items and services at a minimum,
chargemaster rates, rates that hospitals negotiate with third
party payers across all plans, including those related to a
patient's specific plan, discounted cash prices, and other
rates determined by the Secretary.
``(3) Enforcement.--In addition to any other enforcement
actions or penalties that may apply under subsection (b)(3)
or another provision of law, 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 $300 per day that
the violation is ongoing as determined by the Secretary. Such
penalty shall be imposed and collected in the same manner as
civil money penalties under subsection (a) of section 1128A
of the Social Security Act are imposed and collected.''.
(b) Transparency in Coverage.--Section 1311(e)(3) of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C.
18031(e)(3)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) in clause (vii), by inserting before the period the
following: ``, including, for all items and services covered
under the plan, aggregate information on specific payments
the plan has made to out-of-network health care providers on
behalf of plan enrollees''; and
(B) by designating clause (ix) as clause (x); and
(C) by inserting after clause (viii), the following:
``(ix) Information on the specific negotiated payment rates
between the plan and health care providers for all items and
services covered under the plan.'';
(2) in subparagraph (B)--
(A) in the heading, by striking ``use'' and inserting
``delivery methods and use'';
(B) by inserting ``, as applicable,'' after ``English
proficiency''; and
(C) by inserting after the second sentence, the following:
``The Secretary shall establish standards for electronic
delivery and access to such information by individuals, free
of charge, in machine readable format, through an internet
website and via open APIs.'';
(3) in subparagraph (C)--
(A) in the first sentence, by inserting ``or out-of-network
provider'' after ``item or service by a participating
provider'';
(B) in the second sentence, by striking ``through an
internet website'' and inserting ``free of charge, in machine
readable format, through an internet website, and via open
APIs, in accordance with standards established by the
Secretary,''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following: ``Such information
shall include specific negotiated rates that allow for
comparison between providers and across plans, and related to
a patient's specific plan, including after an enrollee has
exceeded their deductible responsibility.''; and
(4) in subparagraph (D) by striking ``subparagraph (A)''
and inserting ``subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C)''.
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