An Act to Protect Maine Patients Regarding Hospital Price Transparency
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0953
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: LIBBY, BRENNER, LEE, PERRY, SMITH, BRAKEY

Legislative Document
No. 953
H.P. 600
House of Representatives, March 2, 2023
An Act to Protect Maine Patients Regarding Hospital Price 
Transparency
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative LIBBY of Auburn.
Cosponsored by Senator BRENNER of Cumberland and
Representatives: LEE of Auburn, PERRY of Calais, SMITH of Palermo, Senator: BRAKEY of 
Androscoggin.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA c. 425 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 425
HOSPITAL PRICE TRANSPARENCY
§2150-N. Price transparency 
A hospital must comply with the price transparency requirements established in 45 
Code of Federal Regulations, Part 180, Subparts A and B, as in effect on January 1, 2023. 
Upon application of the Attorney General, the department or any affected patient, the 
Superior Court or District Court has full jurisdiction to enforce the performance by 
hospitals of all duties imposed upon them by this section.
§2150-O. Prohibition of collection actions for noncompliant hospitals 
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Collection action" means any of the following actions: 
(1) Attempting to collect a debt from a patient or patient guarantor by referring the 
debt directly or indirectly to a debt collector, collection agency or other 3rd party 
retained by or on behalf of a hospital;
(2) Suing the patient or patient guarantor or enforcing an arbitration or mediation 
clause in any hospital documents, including contracts, agreements, statements and 
bills; or 
(3) Directly or indirectly causing a report to be made to a consumer reporting 
agency.
B. "Collection agency" has the same meaning as "debt collector" as defined in Title 32, 
section 11002, subsection 6.
C.  "Consumer reporting agency" means any person that, for monetary fees, dues, or 
on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages, in whole or in part, in the practice 
of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on 
consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to 3rd parties. "Consumer 
reporting agency" includes any person defined in 15 United States Code, Section 
1681a(f). "Consumer reporting agency" does not include any business entity that 
exclusively provides check verification or check guarantee services.
D.  "Items or services" means all items and services, including individual items and 
services and service packages, that are provided by a hospital to a patient in connection 
with an inpatient admission or an outpatient visit for which the patient is charged. 
E. "Patient guarantor" means the individual held responsible for a patient's bill. 
2. Failure to comply with price transparency laws. A hospital that is not in material 
compliance with section 2150-N on the date that items or services are purchased by a 
patient from or provided to a patient by the hospital may not initiate or pursue a collection 
action against the patient or patient guarantor for a debt owed for the items or services. If 
a patient believes that a hospital was not in material compliance with section 2150-N on 
the date that items or services are purchased from or provided to a patient by the hospital 
and the hospital initiates a collection action against the patient or patient guarantor, the 
patient or patient guarantor may file an action in Superior Court or District Court for relief 
in accordance with subsection 3. The hospital may not further pursue a collection action 
against the patient or patient guarantor while the action is pending.
3. Penalties.  If the court in an action brought under subsection 2 to determine material 
compliance with section 2150-N finds that a hospital is materially out of compliance with 
section 2150-N, the court shall:
A. Order the hospital to refund the patient, patient guarantor or 3rd-party payor any 
amount of debt the patient, patient guarantor or 3rd-party payor has paid and pay as a 
penalty to the patient or patient guarantor an amount equal to the total amount of the 
debt;
B. Dismiss or cause to be dismissed any related court action brought by the hospital 
against the patient or patient guarantor, with prejudice, and order the hospital to pay 
any attorney's fees and costs incurred by the patient, patient guarantor or 3rd-party 
payor related to the action; and
C. Order the hospital to remove or cause to be removed from the patient or patient 
guarantor's credit report any report made to a consumer reporting agency relating to 
the debt.
SUMMARY
This bill requires that hospitals comply with the price transparency requirements 
established at 45 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 180, as in effect on January 1, 2023. It 
provides that upon application of the Attorney General, the Department of Health and 
Human Services or any affected patient, the Superior Court or District Court has full 
jurisdiction to enforce the price transparency laws. It prohibits a hospital from billing a 
patient, a patient guarantor or a 3rd-party payor for items or services provided to the patient, 
and requires that a hospital refund any payment made for items or services provided, on a 
date the hospital was in violation of the price transparency laws, as determined by a court, 
and provides for monetary penalties.