A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the full disclosure of billing and service information to patients.

Bill: 116-s-1688
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Enzi, Michael B. [R-WY]
Introduced: 2019-05-23
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Civil actions and liability

Government information and archives

Health care costs and insurance
Latest action: action_date: 2019-05-23
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Summaries:
action_date: 2019-05-23
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p>This bill establishes certain requirements relating to health care billing practices. </p> <p>Specifically, the bill requires health care facilities and practitioners to (1) provide patients with a list of rendered services upon discharge, and (2) send all bills to patients within 30 business days. Further, patients may not be required to pay a bill earlier than 30 business days from the date of receipt. </p> <p>Facilities and practitioners must report any bills that are sent outside of the authorized time period to the Department of Health and Human Services and must also issue refunds to the patients billed; repeated violations are subject to civil penalties.</p>

tv_txt: II 116th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1688 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 23 (legislative day, May 22), 2019 Mr. Enzi (for himself and Mr. Casey ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the full disclosure of billing and service information to patients.

1. Patient disclosures Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 399V–7. Patient disclosures (a) In general The Secretary shall require— (1) health care facilities and practitioners to provide to patients a list of services rendered during the visit to such facility or practitioner upon discharge; and (2) health care facilities and practitioners to send all bills to the patient within 30 business days. (b) Payment after billing No patient may be required to pay a bill for health care services any earlier than 30 business days after receipt of a bill for such services. (c) Effect of violation (1) Notification and refund requirements If a facility or practitioner bills a patient after the 30-business-day period described in subsection (a)(2), such facility or practitioner shall— (A) report such bill to the Secretary; and (B) refund the patient for the full amount paid in response to such bill with interest, at a rate determined by the Secretary. (2) Civil monetary penalties (A) In general The Secretary may impose civil monetary penalties of up to $10,000 a day on any facility or practitioner that submits more than 10 bills outside of the period described in subsection (a)(2), beginning on the date on which such facility or practitioner sends the tenth such bill. (B) Procedure The provisions of section 1128A of the Social Security Act, other than subsections (a) and (b) and the first sentence of subsection (c)(1) of such section, shall apply to civil money penalties under this subsection in the same manner as such provisions apply to a penalty or proceeding under section 1128A of the Social Security Act. .