An Act Requiring Public Disclosure of Prices Charged by Health Care Providers
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0112
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: WOODBURY, CURLEY, KANE, BRENNAN, MAYO
Amends: 22 MRSA §1718

Legislative Document 
No. 112 
H.P.121 
House of Representatives, January 21, 2003 
An Act Requiring Public Disclosure of Prices Charged by Health 
Care Providers 
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative WOODBURY of Yarmouth. 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: CURLEY of Scarborough, KANE of Saco, Senators: 
BRENNAN of Cumberland, MAYO of Sagadahoc. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1718 is enacted to read: 
§1718. 
Disclosure of procedures and prices 
The disclosure of health care procedures offered and prices 
charged by a health care practitioner to a patient or authorized 
representative of a patient. to the general public and to the 
Maine Health Data Organization established under chapter 1683 and 
reimbursement for those health care procedures are governed by 
this section. 
1. 
Definitions. 
As 
used 
in this 
section, 
unless 
the 
context 
otherwise 
indicates, 
the 
following 
terms 
have 
the 
following meanings. 
A. 
"Authorized representative of a patient" or "authorized 
representative" 
means 
a 
patient's 
legal 
guardian; 
agent 
pursuant 
to Title 
l8-A, 
section 
5-802; 
attorney-in-fact 
pursuant to Title l8-A, section 5-506; or other authorized 
representative. 
For a minor who has not consented to health 
care treatment in accordance with the provisions of state 
law, "authorized representative of a patient" or "authorized 
representative" means the minor's parent. legal guardian or 
guardian ad litem. 
B. 
"Health 
care" 
means 
preventative, 
diagnostic, 
therapeutic, rehabilitative, maintenance or palliative care, 
services, 
treatment, 
procedures 
or 
counseling, 
including 
appropriate assistance with disease or symptom management 
and 
maintenance, 
that affects 
an 
individual's physical, 
mental or behavioral condition, including individual cells 
or their components or genetic informatiqn, or the structure 
or function of the human body or any part of the human 
body. 
"Health care" 
includes prescribing, 
dispensing or 
furnishing 
to 
an 
individual 
drugs, 
biologicals, 
medical 
devices or health care equipment and supplies; providing 
hospice services to an individual; and the banking of blood, 
sperm, organs or any other tissue. 
C. 
"Health care facility" or "facility" means a facility, 
institution or entity licensed pursuant to this Title that 
offers health care to persons in this State, including a 
home health care provider or 
a 
hospice program licenses 
pursuant to this Title or a pharmacy licensed pursuant to 
Title 32. 
For the purposes of this section, "health care 
facility" or "facility" does not include a nursing facility, 
state 
mental 
health 
institute, 
the 
Elizabeth 
Levinson 
Center, the Aroostook Residential Center or Freeport Towne 
Square. 
Page l-LR0274(1) 
D. 
"Health care practitioner" means a person licensed by 
this State to provide or otherwise lawfully providing health 
care 
or 
a 
partnership or 
corporation made 
up of 
those 
persons or an officer, employee, agent or contractor of that 
person acting in the course and scope of employment, agency 
or contract related to or supportive of the provision of 
health care to individuals. 
E. 
"Health care procedure" means the provision of health 
care 
including 
a 
diagnosis, 
test, 
procedure, 
treatment, 
operation or other health care service and the provision of 
pharmaceuticals and health care equipment required as part 
of a health care procedure provided to a patient by a health 
care practitioner or by a person or entity affiliated with 
or 
under 
a 
contractual 
agreement with 
the 
health 
care 
practitioner. 
2. 
Disclosure to patient required. 
Except as provided in 
subsection 6, prior to providing a health care procedure to a 
patient, a health care practitioner or facility must disclose in 
writing to the patient or to the authorized representative of the 
patient the price or prices to be charged for the health care 
procedure. 
3. 
Billing 
for 
reimbursement 
prohibited. 
Except 
as 
provided in subsection 6, a health care practitioner or facility 
who has not provided the disclosure required by subsection 2 for 
a particular health care procedure may not bill the patient. 
authorized representative of the patient. insurance carrier or 
other responsible 3rd party for the health care procedure. 
4. 
Disclosure 
to 
public 
required. 
A 
heal th 
care 
practi tioner or facility must provide for the general public a 
list of health care procedures 
provided by 
the health care 
practitioner or facility and the price or prices charged for each 
procedure listed. 
5. 
Disclosure to Maine Health Data Organization. 
By March 
31st of each year, a health care practitioner Qr facility shall 
disclose to the Maine Health Data Organization established under 
chapter 1683 the list of health care procedures and prices for 
which disclosure is required under subsection 4 and a list of 
discounts from those prices that were granted by the health care 
practitioner or facility in the prior calendar year. 
6. 
Exceptions. 
The provisions of subsections 2 and 3 do 
not apply in a health care emergency. 
The Board of Licensure in 
Medicine and the Division of Licensure and Certification shall 
adopt rules defining the term "emergency" for the purposes of 
this section. 
Rules 
adopted pursuant to this subsection are 
routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 2. Effective date. 
This Act takes effect January 1, 2004. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires health care practitioners and facilities 
to disclose the prices charged for the health care services that 
they provide and prohibi ts them from billing for those services 
if they have not disclosed those services and their prices in 
writing to the patient prior to providing the services. 
The bill 
also requires annual reporting of health care services and prices 
and any discounts made from those prices to the Maine Health Data 
Organization. 
The bill contains an effective date of January 1, 
2004.