Better Health Care Directories Act

To amend the Public Health Service Act, Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide for provider directory improvements to enhance enrollee, participant, and beneficiary access to care. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Better Health Care Directories Act 2. Provider directory improvements to enhance enrollee, participant, and beneficiary access (a) Provider directory information To include if provider is accepting new patients (1) Group health plan and health insurance issuer requirement (A) PHSA Section 2799A–5(a)(6) of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300gg–115(a)(6) as well as information (which shall be updated at least annually) furnished to the plan by such provider or facility on whether such provider or facility is accepting new patients and, if so, if an in-person appointment or telehealth appointment (or either) is available for such patients (B) IRC Section 9820(a)(6) as well as information (which shall be updated at least annually) furnished to the plan by such provider or facility on whether such provider or facility is accepting new patients and, if so, if an in-person appointment or telehealth appointment (or either) is available for such patients (C) ERISA Section 720(a)(6) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1185i(a)(6) as well as information (which shall be updated at least annually) furnished to the plan by such provider or facility on whether such provider or facility is accepting new patients and, if so, if an in-person appointment or telehealth appointment (or either) is available for such patients (2) Provider requirement Section 2799B–9(d) of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300gg–139(d) as well as information (which shall be updated at least annually) on whether such provider or facility is accepting new patients and, if so, if an in-person appointment or telehealth appointment (or either) is available for such patients (3) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2025. (b) Machine readable format and public posting (1) PHSA Section 2799A–5(a) of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300gg–115(a) (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking at the end and (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking at the end the period and adding ; and (iii) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (E) for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, annually submit the provider directory information under paragraph (6), with respect to such plan or coverage, to the Secretary in a machine-readable file (as defined in section 147.210(a)(2)(xiv) of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation). ; and (B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (8) Public posting by Secretary of provider directories Beginning not later than July 1, 2025, the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of the Treasury, shall make the information submitted pursuant to paragraph (1)(E) available on a public Federal Government website. . (2) IRC Section 9820(a) (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking at the end and (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking at the end the period and adding ; and (iii) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (E) for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, annually submit the provider directory information under paragraph (6), with respect to such plan, to the Secretary in a machine-readable file (as defined in section 54.9815–2715A1(a)(2)(xiv) of title 26, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation). ; and (B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (8) Public posting by Secretary of provider directories Beginning not later than July 1, 2025, the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall make the information submitted pursuant to paragraph (1)(E) available on a public Federal Government website. . (3) ERISA Section 720(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1185i(a) (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking at the end and (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking at the end the period and adding ; and (iii) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (E) for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, annually submit the provider directory information under paragraph (6), with respect to such plan or coverage, to the Secretary in a machine-readable file (as defined in section 2590.715–2715A1(a)(2)(xiii) of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation). ; and (B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (8) Public posting by Secretary of provider directories Beginning not later than July 1, 2025, the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall make the information submitted pursuant to paragraph (1)(E) available on a public Federal Government website. . (c) Implementation The Secretaries of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury may implement the provisions of, including the amendments made by, this section through interim final rule, sub-regulatory guidance, program instruction, or otherwise.

Summary: Better Health Care Directories Act This bill requires health insurance plans to include additional information in their provider directories, such as whether a provider is accepting new patients.