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Delegate proposes state enforcement for hospital price‑transparency rule; hospitals urge federal process
Summary
Delegate Robin Grammer proposed HB 547 to add state enforcement and a fund to implement federal hospital price‑transparency requirements after advocates reported uneven compliance; hospitals warned the bill could duplicate federal oversight and conflict with Maryland’s rate‑setting model.
Delegate Robin Grammer presented House Bill 547, proposing state‑level enforcement and a fund to implement the federal hospital price‑transparency rule. The bill would authorize the Maryland Department of Health (or another designated agency) to enforce federal requirements that hospitals disclose charge information and to collect administrative penalties to fund compliance work.
Nut graf: Proponents said federal enforcement has been uneven and state enforcement would ensure that hospitals publish machine‑readable pricing and tools that help patients compare costs. Opponents said Maryland hospitals already comply with federal rules, that the state’s all‑payer hospital rate‑setting system reduces price variability, and that duplicative enforcement could create administrative burdens and risk conflicts with federal enforcement.
Sponsor testimony and rationale: Delegate Grammer said the federal Hospital Price Transparency rule aims to let patients compare hospital charges and that several states have adopted state enforcement statutes to improve compliance. She pointed to patient‑advocacy research suggesting compliance gaps and said state enforcement would help patients compare prices across institutions.
Hospital and health‑system testimony: Jake Whitaker of the Maryland Hospital Association testified in respectful opposition, saying hospitals support transparency but that the bill would be duplicative of federal requirements and, he argued, would impose additional enforcement and reporting burdens on hospitals that already provide online price‑estimation tools. MDH’s fiscal note said most Maryland hospitals have been compliant with federal rules and projected limited annual special‑fund revenue from penalties.
Committee questioning focused on whether Maryland’s unique HSCRC global‑budget model reduces the need for additional state enforcement and on how state enforcement would interact with federal CMS enforcement. Delegate Grammer said the bill could be amended to consider HSCRC roles and emphasized that machine‑readable disclosures remain uneven in practice.
Ending: Delegate Grammer invited follow‑up with HSCRC and MDH to work on implementation details and the committee asked the sponsor to meet with HSCRC and MDH to seek compromise.
