HB0121

Requires hospitals in Wyoming to publicly disclose pricing information for medical items and services, and establishes enforcement mechanisms including civil penalties and debt collection restrictions for noncompliant facilities.

• Establishes the Hospital Price Transparency Act, creating requirements for hospitals to disclose prices for facility items and services to the public. (W.S. 35-2-1501)
• Requires hospitals to maintain and publicly post a complete machine-readable digital file listing all standard charges (gross charge, negotiated charges by payor, minimum and maximum negotiated charges, and discounted cash price) for all items and services provided, with specific formatting and accessibility requirements. (W.S. 35-2-1503, W.S. 35-2-1504)
• Requires hospitals to maintain and publicly disclose a consumer-friendly list of standard charges for at least 300 shoppable services, including at least the 70 services specified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, searchable by service description, billing code, and payor. (W.S. 35-2-1505)
• Requires hospitals to submit updated pricing lists to the Department of Health each time they update the lists, and authorizes the department to monitor compliance through website audits, complaint evaluation, and license renewal reviews. (W.S. 35-2-1506, W.S. 35-2-1507)
• Establishes a process whereby the Department of Health issues a material violation notice to noncompliant hospitals and requires submission of a corrective action plan with a specified deadline for compliance. (W.S. 35-2-1508)
• Imposes a civil penalty of $1,000 per day on hospitals that fail to respond to or comply with a corrective action plan, and requires the Department of Health to maintain a publicly available list of violating facilities updated every 30 days. (W.S. 35-2-1509)
• Prohibits hospitals in material noncompliance with the act from initiating or pursuing collection actions (including debt collection referrals, lawsuits, or credit reporting) against patients for services provided while the hospital was noncompliant. (W.S. 35-2-1511)
• Provides that patients may file suit to determine if a hospital was materially noncompliant at the time of service, and if so, the hospital must refund payments, pay a penalty equal to the debt amount, dismiss court actions with attorney fees, and remove adverse credit reports.