Senate Introduces Price Transparency Bill but Leaves Out Site Neutrality

  • Jan 19, 2024

    A bipartisan group of senators has introduced price transparency legislation crafted by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) that would require plans and providers to publish all of their negotiated rates, codify the Transparency in Coverage (TiC) rule, make data-sharing rules more specific and stringent, and increase fines for noncompliance with data sharing requirements. However, the legislation does not include any site neutrality requirements, although one D.C. insider says that policy is still under discussion in the Senate. 

    The Senate bill, S-3548, comes on the heels of the House of Representatives passing the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act in December. The House bill would also codify the TiC rule, make data-sharing requirements stricter and increase fines for noncompliance to as much as $10 million. However, unlike the Senate bill, the House bill would include a tentative step toward site neutrality by barring providers from charging facility fees to Medicare for provider-administered drugs given to patients in outpatient departments. The new Senate bill also does not include any PBM reforms — the Senate Finance Committee has taken the lead on that issue. 

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  • Peter Johnson

    Peter has worked as a journalist since 2011 and has covered health care since 2020. At AIS Health, Peter covers trends in finance, business and policy that affect the health insurance and pharma sectors. For Health Plan Weekly, he covers all aspects of the U.S. health insurance sector, including employer-sponsored insurance, Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage and the Affordable Care Act individual marketplaces. In Radar on Drug Benefits, Peter covers the operations of (and conflicts between) pharmacy benefit managers and pharmaceutical manufacturers, with a particular focus on pricing dynamics and market access. Before joining AIS Health, Peter covered transportation, public safety and local government for various outlets in Seattle, his hometown and current place of residence. He graduated with a B.A. from Colby College.

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