An Act To Clarify the Law Governing Public Disclosure of Health Care Prices
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1642
Committee Amendment CA_A_S431 (Senate)
Amends: 22 MRSA §1718-A

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " to S.P. 633, L.D. 1642, Bill, "An Act To 
Clarify the Law Governing Public Disclosure of Health Care Prices" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1718-A, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 332, § 1 and affected by §3, 
is repealed. 
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA § 1718-B is enacted to read: 
§1718-B. Consumer information regarding health care entity prices 
This section applies to the disclosure of health care prices by a health care entity. 
1. Definitions. 
As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A. "Frequently provided health care services and procedures" means those health 
care services and procedures that were provided by the health care entity at least 50 
times in the preceding calendar year. 
B. 
"Health care entity" means a health care practitioner, as defined in section 
l711-C, subsection 1, paragraph F; a group of health care practitioners; or a health 
care facility, as defmed in section 17l1-C, subsection 1, paragraph D, that charges 
patients for health care services and procedures. A health care entity does not include 
a pharmacy or a pharmacist. 
2. Requirements. The following requirements apply to health care entities. 
A. A health care entity shall have available to patients the prices of the health care 
entity's most frequently provided health care services and procedures. The prices 
stated must be the prices that the health care entity charges patients directly when 
there is no insurance coverage for the services or procedures or when reimbursement 
by an insurance company is denied. The prices stated must be accompanied by 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A .. to S.P. 633, L.D. 1642 
descriptions of the services and procedures and the applicable standard medical codes 
or current procedural technology codes used by the American Medical Association. 
B. A health care entity shall infonn patients about the availability of prices for the 
most frequently provided health care services and procedures. 
C. 
A health care entity shall prominently display in a location that is readily 
accessible to patients infonnation on the price transparency tools available from the 
publicly accessible website of the Maine Health Data Organization established 
pursuant to chapter 1683 to assist consumers with obtaining estimates of costs 
associated with health care services and procedures. 
A health care entity that does not routinely render services directly to patients in an office 
setting may satisfy this subsection by providing the information on its publicly accessible 
website.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the majority report of the committee, replaces the bill. It 
retains the substance of the bill and adds the following. 
1. It requires health care entities to maintain prices rather than price lists to reflect 
that prices are typically retained in databases. 
2. It requires health care entities to display a notice infonning patients of their ability 
to obtain estimates of costs from the Maine Health Data Organization. 
3. It allows health care entities that do not render their services directly to patients in 
an office setting to satisfy the requirements of notice by providing information on their 
publicly accessible websites. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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