Patients in Florida will benefit of a new law that takes effect July 1^st, 2016.  The new law is expected to add a new level of transparency as it regards to healthcare services. House Bill 1175 creates a website enabling people to get a price projection for an episode of treatment from a hospital or ambulatory surgery center.  Some of the new requirements of this law includes:

• Services and procedures will be grouped by a descriptive service bundle to facilitate price comparisons;
• Hospitals and ASCs are required to provide access to the searchable service bundles on their website;
• Consumers will be presented with the estimated average payment received, excluding Medicaid and Medicare, and estimated payment ranges for each service bundle, by facility, facilities within geographic boundaries, and nationally;
• Facilities must disclose the facility’s financial assistance policies and collection procedures;
• Facilities must notify prospective patients that other health care providers may provide services in the facility and bill separately from the facility;
• Insurers and HMOs are required to provide on their websites a method for policy holders to estimate their cost-sharing responsibilities by service bundle;
• Estimates shall include both in-network and out-of-network providers;
• Consumers may request personalized good faith estimates of charges for non-emergency medical services from hospitals;
• Estimates requested by consumers shall be provided within 7 days after the request;
  • The bill provides for a daily fine for non-compliance by facilities and health care practitioners;
  • The personalized estimate must also inform the patient about the health care provider’s financial assistance policies and collection procedures;
  • A patient may also request an itemized bill or statement from the hospital and ASC after discharge;
  • Each diagnostic-imaging center operated by a hospital but not located on the hospital grounds is required to post in the reception area prices charged to uninsured persons for the 50 most frequently provided services;

For a summary on the House Bill visit: https://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/BillSummaries/2016/html/1385