Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Healthcare Billing Transparency topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee approves bill to require unique identifiers for off‑campus hospital departments to curb surprise facility fees
Summary
The committee reported HR8684 to require hospitals to include unique identifiers for off‑campus outpatient departments on claims to help payers and patients determine where services were provided, aiming to reduce inflated hospital facility fees; the measure was reported unanimously.
The committee approved HR8684, the Transparency in Billing Act, and ordered the bill reported to the House (committee vote 34–0). Representative Virginia Fox, a lead sponsor, said hospitals increasingly acquire outpatient clinics and then bill services with hospital facility fees that dramatically increase costs for insurers and patients; the bill requires hospitals to include unique provider identifiers for off‑campus outpatient departments so payers can accurately identify the care setting.
Ranking members from both parties described the measure as filling a gap left by recent Medicare reforms so that private insurers and employer plans receive the same site‑of‑care transparency that Medicare will require beginning in 2028. Supporters argued the change is a straightforward way to prevent overpayment when care is unchanged but the billing setting shifts.
The committee adopted the substitute, ordered the bill reported unanimously, and asked staff to make technical corrections before transmittal to the House.
