Hospitals would post prices and share billing details before collecting debts

Hospitals would post standard prices online and provide either a price list for at least 300 services or a tool for personal cost estimates. The rule would cover public and private hospitals, including general and special hospitals licensed by the Health Care Authority. The online price information would have to follow federal formatting rules.

The Health Care Authority could check hospital websites and set up a process for complaints; it would notify hospitals of violations and require them to fix problems or submit a correction plan. These rules would apply to hospitals and to patients or guarantors involved in collection actions over related hospital debts. A hospital could not pursue collection of a related debt if it was out of compliance on the date it provided the item or service. A patient or guarantor could raise the related violation as a defense in a collection case. If successful, the court would dismiss the case, order refunds and legal costs, and require removal of related credit reports. The collection limit would apply when the hospital was out of compliance on the date it provided the related item or service.

Before starting a collection action, a hospital or its debt collector would give the patient an itemized bill, payment receipts, language-help information, and hospital contact details for questions or corrections. This would apply to a hospital or debt collector acting for a hospital before it starts a collection action against a patient. The itemized bill would include commonly recognized billing codes for each item or service. Receipts would cover payments made within 30 days of each payment. The information would have to be provided before a collection action begins.

Violating the Hospital Price Transparency Act would count as an unfair or deceptive trade practice. This would apply to violations of the Hospital Price Transparency Act.