An Act To Require Public Disclosure of Health Care Prices

Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1718-A  is enacted to read:

§ 1718-A.  Consumer information regarding health care practitioner prices

Each health care practitioner, as defined in section 1711-C, subsection 1, paragraph F, shall maintain a price list of the health care practitioner's most frequently provided health care services and procedures. The prices stated must be the prices that the health care practitioner charges clients directly, when there is no insurance coverage for the services or procedures or when reimbursement by an insurance company is denied. For purposes of this section, "frequently provided health care services and procedures" means those health care services and procedures that were provided by the health care practitioner at least 50 times in the preceding calendar year. Health care practitioners shall inform clients about the availability of the price list and provide copies of the price list upon request.

Sec. 2. 24 MRSA §2987,  as enacted by PL 2003, c. 469, Pt. C, §30, is repealed.

Sec. 3. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2014.

summary

This bill requires health care practitioners to maintain and make available to clients a price list of their most frequently provided services and procedures. The prices stated are the prices charged to a patient when there is no insurance coverage or when reimbursement by an insurance company is denied.