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Senate advances bill to expand freestanding emergency departments and require price transparency
Summary
First Substitute House Bill 152, described on the floor as expanding the circumstances under which hospitals may open freestanding emergency departments and imposing price-transparency requirements, was read for a third time after sponsors said it balances system and patient needs.
First Substitute House Bill 152, a proposal to allow hospitals to open additional freestanding emergency departments if they meet minimum standards and to require price transparency, was advanced on the Senate floor and read for a third time.
Senator Grover, presenting the bill, said the measure "allows hospitals [the] ability to open more freestanding emergency departments as needs arise, as long as they meet certain minimum standards. And there's also a requirement for price transparency." Senator Plumb, speaking in support, praised sponsors for extensive work with stakeholders and said the bill seeks to balance health system needs with patient protections.
The recorded floor proceedings show no extended opposition in the chamber and no detailed fiscal breakdown presented during the floor remarks. After discussion and recognition of the sponsors’ negotiations with interested parties, the clerk announced the roll-call result: "First substitute house bill 152 having received 26 yay votes, 0 a votes, 3 being absent, shall be read a third time." The bill thus advanced to the third-reading calendar.
The floor record does not include the bill text’s specific minimum standards or the scope of the price-transparency requirement; those details were developed in committee and in sponsor negotiations and were not recited on the floor.
