[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 140 (Thursday, August 6, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S5306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2614. Mr. BRAUN (for himself, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Enzi) 
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2499 
proposed by Mr. McConnell to the bill S. 178, to condemn gross human 
rights violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, and calling for 
an end to arbitrary detention, torture, and harassment of these 
communities inside and outside China; which was ordered to lie on the 
table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. PRICE TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) Hospitals.--Section 2718(e) of the Public Health 
     Service Act (42 U.S.C. Sec.  300gg-18(e)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Each hospital'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(1) In general.--Each hospital'';
       (2) by inserting ``, in a machine-readable format, via open 
     application program interfaces (APIs)'' after ``a list'';
       (3) by inserting ``, along with such additional information 
     as the Secretary may require with respect to such charges for 
     purposes of promoting public awareness of hospital pricing in 
     advance of receiving a hospital item or service'' before the 
     period; and
       (4) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) Definition of standard charges.--Notwithstanding any 
     other provision of law, for purposes of paragraph (1), the 
     term `standard charges' means the rates hospitals, including 
     providers or entities that contract with or practice at a 
     hospital, charge for all items and services at a minimum, 
     chargemaster rates, rates that hospitals negotiate with third 
     party payers across all plans, including those related to a 
     patient's specific plan, discounted cash prices, and other 
     rates determined by the Secretary.
       ``(3) Enforcement.--In addition to any other enforcement 
     actions or penalties that may apply under subsection (b)(3) 
     or another provision of law, a hospital that fails to provide 
     the information required by this subsection and has not 
     completed a corrective action plan to comply with the 
     requirements of such subsection shall be subject to a civil 
     monetary penalty of an amount not to exceed $300 per day that 
     the violation is ongoing as determined by the Secretary. Such 
     penalty shall be imposed and collected in the same manner as 
     civil money penalties under subsection (a) of section 1128A 
     of the Social Security Act are imposed and collected.''.
       (b) Transparency in Coverage.--Section 1311(e)(3) of the 
     Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 
     18031(e)(3)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A)--
       (A) in clause (vii), by inserting before the period the 
     following: ``, including, for all items and services covered 
     under the plan, aggregate information on specific payments 
     the plan has made to out-of-network health care providers on 
     behalf of plan enrollees''; and
       (B) by designating clause (ix) as clause (x); and
       (C) by inserting after clause (viii), the following:
       ``(ix) Information on the specific negotiated payment rates 
     between the plan and health care providers for all items and 
     services covered under the plan.'';
       (2) in subparagraph (B)--
       (A) in the heading, by striking ``use'' and inserting 
     ``delivery methods and use'';
       (B) by inserting ``, as applicable,'' after ``English 
     proficiency''; and
       (C) by inserting after the second sentence, the following: 
     ``The Secretary shall establish standards for electronic 
     delivery and access to such information by individuals, free 
     of charge, in machine readable format, through an internet 
     website and via open APIs.'';
       (3) in subparagraph (C)--
       (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ``or out-of-network 
     provider'' after ``item or service by a participating 
     provider'';
       (B) in the second sentence, by striking ``through an 
     internet website'' and inserting ``free of charge, in machine 
     readable format, through an internet website, and via open 
     APIs, in accordance with standards established by the 
     Secretary,''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following: ``Such information 
     shall include specific negotiated rates that allow for 
     comparison between providers and across plans, and related to 
     a patient's specific plan, including after an enrollee has 
     exceeded their deductible responsibility.''; and
       (4) in subparagraph (D) by striking ``subparagraph (A)'' 
     and inserting ``subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C)''.
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