00                      CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 123(HSS)                                                                    
01 "An Act relating to disclosure of health care services and price information; and                                       
02 providing for an effective date."                                                                                       
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1. AS 18.15.360(a) is amended to read:                                                                   
05            (a)  The department is authorized to collect, analyze, and maintain databases of                             
06       information related to                                                                                            
07                 (1)  risk factors identified for conditions of public health importance;                                
08                 (2)  morbidity and mortality rates for conditions of public health                                      
09       importance;                                                                                                       
10                 (3)  community indicators relevant to conditions of public health                                       
11       importance;                                                                                                       
12                 (4)  longitudinal data on traumatic or acquired brain injury from the                                   
13       registry established under AS 47.80.500(c)(1); [AND]                                                              
14                 (5)  health care services and price information collected under                                     

01       AS 18.23.400; and                                                                                             
02                 (6)  any other data needed to accomplish or further the mission or goals                            
03       of public health or provide essential public health services and functions.                                       
04    * Sec. 2. AS 18.23 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                     
05              Article 4. Health Care Services and Price Information.                                                   
06 Sec. 18.23.400. Disclosure and reporting of health care services and price                                            
07 information. (a) A health care provider shall annually compile a list, by procedure                                   
08 code, including a brief description, in plain language that an individual with no                                       
09 medical training can understand, of the 25 health care services most commonly                                           
10 performed by the provider in the state in the previous calendar year and the                                            
11       undiscounted price charged for each of those health care services.                                                
12 (b)  A health care facility in the state shall annually compile a list, by                                              
13 procedure code, including a brief description, in plain language that an individual with                                
14 no medical training can understand, of the 50 health care services most commonly                                        
15 performed at the facility in the previous calendar year and the undiscounted price                                      
16       charged for each of those health care services.                                                                   
17 (c)  A health care provider and health care facility shall publish the lists                                            
18       compiled under (a) and (b) of this section by January 31 each year                                                
19 (1)  by providing the list to the department for entry in the department's                                              
20       database under AS 18.15.360;                                                                                      
21 (2)  by posting a copy of the list in a conspicuous public reception area                                               
22 at the health care provider's office or health care facility where the services are                                     
23       performed; and                                                                                                    
24 (3)  if the health care provider or facility has an Internet website, by                                                
25       posting the list on the website.                                                                                  
26 (d)  A health care provider or health care facility may include a statement with                                        
27 a list published under (c) of this section explaining that the undiscounted price may be                                
28 higher or lower than the amount an individual actually pays for the health care                                         
29       services described in the list.                                                                                   
30 (e)  The department shall compile and annually update the lists provided under                                          
31 (a) and (b) of this section by health care service and, where relevant, provider and                                    

01 health care facility name and location, and post the information on the department's                                    
02 Internet website and enter the information in the database maintained under                                             
03       AS 18.15.360.                                                                                                     
04 (f)  If a health care provider performs fewer than 25 health care services in the                                       
05 state or fewer than 50 health care services are performed at a health care facility in the                              
06 state in the annual reporting period under this section, the provider or facility shall                                 
07 provide a list of all of the health care services performed by the provider or at the                                   
08       facility.                                                                                                         
09 (g)  A health care provider or health care facility that fails to comply with the                                       
10 requirements of this section is liable for a civil penalty. The department may impose a                                 
11 civil penalty of not more than $50 for each day after March 31 that a health care                                       
12 provider or health care facility fails to provide and post information as required under                                
13 (c) of this section. The total penalty may not exceed $2,500. A person penalized under                                  
14 this subsection is entitled to a hearing conducted by the office of administrative                                      
15       hearings under AS 44.64.                                                                                          
16            (h)  In this section,                                                                                        
17                 (1)  "department" means the Department of Health and Social Services;                                   
18 (2)  "health care facility" means a private, municipal, or state hospital,                                              
19 psychiatric hospital, independent diagnostic testing facility, residential psychiatric                                  
20 treatment center as defined in AS 47.32.900, kidney disease treatment center                                            
21 (including freestanding hemodialysis units), the offices of private physicians or                                       
22 dentists whether in individual or group practice; ambulatory surgical center as defined                                 
23 in AS 47.32.900, free-standing birth center as defined in AS 47.32.900, and rural                                       
24       health clinic as defined in AS 47.32.900; "health care facility" does not include                                 
25 (A)  the Alaska Pioneers' Home and the Alaska Veterans' Home                                                            
26            administered by the department under AS 47.55;                                                               
27                      (B)  an assisted living home as defined in AS 47.33.990;                                           
28 (C)  a nursing facility licensed by the department to provide                                                           
29            long-term care;                                                                                              
30 (D)  a facility operated by an Alaska tribal health organization;                                                       
31            and                                                                                                          

01 (E)  a hospital operated by the United States Department of                                                             
02 Veterans Affairs or the United States Department of Defense, or any other                                               
03            federally operated hospital or institution;                                                                  
04 (3)  "health care provider" means an individual licensed, certified, or                                                 
05 otherwise authorized or permitted by law to provide health care services in the                                         
06       ordinary course of business or practice of a profession;                                                          
07 (4)  "health care service" means a service or procedure provided in                                                     
08 person or remotely by telemedicine or other means by a health care provider or at a                                     
09 health care facility for the purpose of or incidental to the care, prevention, or treatment                             
10       of a physical or mental illness or injury;                                                                        
11 (5)  "recipient" means an individual to whom health care services are                                                   
12       provided in the state by a health care provider or at a health care facility;                                     
13 (6)  "third party" means a public or private entity, association, or                                                    
14 organization that provides, by contract, agreement, or other arrangement, insurance,                                    
15 payment, price discount, or other benefit for all or a portion of the cost of health care                               
16 services provided to a recipient; "third party" does not include a member of the                                        
17       recipient's immediate family;                                                                                     
18 (7)  "undiscounted price" means the charges billed for services                                                         
19 rendered without complications or exceptional circumstances; "undiscounted price"                                       
20 does not include a negotiated discount for in-network, out-of-network, or self-insured                                  
21       services rendered or the costs paid by a third party for those services.                                          
22    * Sec. 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018.