AB353: Bill Text

AB353,10,4 4. The list is accessible to a common commercial operator of an Internet search engine to the extent necessary for the search engine to index the list and display the list as a result in response to a search query of a user of the search engine.

AB353,10,5 5. The list is formatted in a manner prescribed by the department.

AB353,10,6 6. The list is digitally searchable.

AB353,10,8 7. The list uses a naming convention specified by the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services.

AB353,10,10 (g) In prescribing the format of the list under par. (f) 5., the department shall do all of the following:

AB353,10,11 1. Develop a template for each hospital to use in formatting the list.

AB353,10,15 2. Consider any applicable federal guidelines for formatting similar lists required by federal law or rule and ensure that the design of the template enables health care researchers to compare the charges contained in the lists maintained by each hospital.

AB353,10,21 3. Design the template under subd. 1. to be substantially similar to the template used by the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services for purposes similar to the purposes of the list required under par. (a) 1. if the department determines that designing the template under subd. 1. to be substantially similar to the template used by the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services benefits the department.

AB353,11,2 (h) A hospital shall update the list required under par. (a) 1. at least once each year. The hospital shall clearly indicate the date on which the list was most recently updated, either on the list or in a manner that is clearly associated with the list.

AB353,11,12 (4) Consumer-friendly list of shoppable services. (a) Except as provided in par. (c), a hospital shall maintain and make publicly available a list of the standard charges described under sub. (3) (c) 2. b., c., d., and e. for each of at least 300 shoppable services provided by the hospital. The hospital may select the shoppable services to be included in the list, except that the list shall include either the 70 services specified as shoppable services by the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services or, if the hospital does not provide all of the shoppable services specified by the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services, as many of the 70 services specified as shoppable services by the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services as the hospital provides.

AB353,11,16 (b) In selecting a shoppable service for inclusion in the list, the hospital shall consider how frequently the hospital provides the service and the hospital’s billing rate for the service and prioritize the selection of services that are among the services most frequently provided by the hospital.

AB353,11,19 (c) If a hospital does not provide at least 300 shoppable services, then the hospital shall maintain a list of all shoppable services that the hospital provides consistent with the requirements of this subsection.

AB353,11,20 (d) The list required under this subsection shall satisfy all of the following:

AB353,11,21 1. The list shall include the following information:

AB353,11,22 a. A plain-language description of each shoppable service included on the list.

AB353,12,3 b. The payer-specific negotiated charge that applies to each shoppable service included on the list and any ancillary service, listed by the name of the 3rd-party payer and plan associated with the negotiated charge and displayed in a manner that clearly associates the negotiated charge with the 3rd-party payer and plan.

AB353,12,7 c. The discounted cash price that applies to each shoppable service included on the list and any ancillary service or, if the hospital does not offer a discounted cash price for one or more of the shoppable services on the list or ancillary services, the gross charge for the shoppable service or ancillary service.

AB353,12,9 d. The de-identified minimum negotiated charge that applies to each shoppable service included on the list and any ancillary service.

AB353,12,11 e. The de-identified maximum negotiated charge that applies to each shoppable service included on the list and any ancillary service.

AB353,12,16 f. Any code used by the hospital for purposes of accounting or billing for each shoppable service included on the list and any ancillary service, including the current procedural terminology code, the healthcare common procedure coding system code, the diagnosis related group code, the national drug code, or any other common identifier.

AB353,12,17 2. If applicable, the list shall do all of the following:

AB353,12,21 a. State each location at which the hospital provides the shoppable service and whether the standard charges included in the list apply at that location to the provision of that shoppable service in an inpatient setting, in an outpatient department setting, or in both of those settings.

AB353,12,23 b. Indicate if one or more of the shoppable services specified by the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services is not provided by the hospital.

AB353,13,2 (e) The list required under this subsection shall satisfy all of the following criteria:

AB353,13,3 1. The list is displayed in the manner provided in sub. (3) (e).

AB353,13,7 2. The list is available free of charge, without having to register or establish a user account or password, without having to submit personal identifying information, and without having to overcome any other impediment, including entering a code to access the list.

AB353,13,8 3. The list is searchable by service description, billing code, and payer.

AB353,13,9 4. The list is updated in the manner provided in sub. (3) (h).

AB353,13,13 5. The list is accessible to a common commercial operator of an Internet search engine to the extent necessary for the search engine to index the list and display the list as a result in response to a search query of a user of the search engine.

AB353,13,15 6. The list is formatted in a manner that is consistent with the format prescribed by the department under sub. (3) (f) 5.

AB353,13,19 (5) Reporting. Every time a hospital updates a list as required under subs. (3) (h) and (4) (e) 4., the hospital shall submit the updated list to the department. The department shall prescribe the form in which the updated list shall be submitted to the department.

AB353,13,22 (6) Monitoring and enforcement. (a) The department shall monitor each hospital’s compliance with the requirements of this section using any of the following methods:

AB353,14,2 1. Evaluating complaints made by persons to the department regarding noncompliance with this section.

AB353,14,4 2. Reviewing any analysis prepared regarding noncompliance with this section.

AB353,14,5 3. Auditing the websites of hospitals for noncompliance with this section.

AB353,14,6 4. Confirming that each hospital submitted the lists required under sub. (5).

AB353,14,8 (b) If the department determines that a hospital is not in compliance with any provisions of this section, the department shall take the following actions:

AB353,14,10 1. Provide a written notice to the hospital that clearly explains the manner in which the hospital is not in compliance with this section.

AB353,14,12 2. Request a corrective action plan from the hospital if the hospital has materially violated a provision of this section.

AB353,14,15 3. Impose a penalty and publicize the penalty on the department’s website. The department shall impose a penalty only if the hospital does any of the following:

AB353,14,17 a. Fails to respond to the department’s request to submit a corrective action plan.

AB353,14,19 b. Fails to comply with the requirements of a corrective action plan submitted to the department.

AB353,15,2 (c) The department shall create and maintain a publicly available list on its website of any hospital that has been found to have violated any provision of this section, including the dates that the hospital was not in compliance, that has been issued a penalty, or that has been sent a warning notice, request for a corrective action plan, or any other written communication from the department.

AB353,15,5 (d) In considering an application for renewal of a hospital’s license, the department shall consider whether the hospital is or has been in compliance with this section.

AB353,15,7 (7) Material violation; corrective action plan. (a) A hospital materially violates this section if the hospital does any of the following:

AB353,15,8 1. Fails to comply with the requirements of sub. (2).

AB353,15,10 2. Fails to publicize the hospital’s standard charges in the form and manner required by subs. (3) and (4).

AB353,15,16 (b) If the department determines that a hospital has materially violated this section, the department shall issue a notice of material violation to the hospital and request that the hospital submit a corrective plan of action. The notice shall indicate the form and manner in which the corrective action plan shall be submitted to the department and clearly state the date by which the hospital is required to submit the plan.

AB353,15,17 (c) A hospital that receives a notice under par. (b) shall do all of the following:

AB353,15,19 1. Submit a corrective action plan in the form and manner, and by the specified date, prescribed by the notice of violation.

AB353,15,21 2. As soon as practicable after submission of a corrective action plan to the department, act to comply with the corrective action plan.

AB353,15,23 (d) A corrective action plan submitted to the department under par. (c) shall satisfy all of the following criteria:

AB353,16,2 1. Describe in detail the corrective actions the hospital will take to address any violation identified by the department in the notice provided under par. (b).

AB353,16,4 2. Provide a date by which the hospital will complete the corrective actions described in subd. 1.

AB353,16,8 (e) A corrective action plan under this subsection is subject to review and approval by the department. After the department reviews and approves a hospital’s corrective action plan, the department shall monitor and evaluate the hospital’s compliance with the corrective action plan.

AB353,16,10 (f) A hospital is considered to have failed to respond to the department’s request to submit a corrective action plan if the hospital does any of the following:

AB353,16,12 1. Fails to submit a corrective action plan in the form and manner specified in the notice provided under par. (b).

AB353,16,14 2. Fails to submit a corrective action plan by the date specified in the notice provided under par. (b).

AB353,16,17 (g) A hospital is considered to have failed to comply with a corrective action plan under this subsection if the hospital fails to address a violation within the specified period of time contained in the corrective action plan.

AB353,16,19 (8) Forfeiture. (a) The department shall impose a forfeiture on a hospital if the hospital does any of the following:

AB353,16,21 1. Fails to respond to the department’s request to submit a corrective action plan under sub. (7).

AB353,16,23 2. Fails to comply with the requirements of a corrective action plan submitted to the department under sub. (7).

AB353,17,4 (b) The department shall impose a forfeiture on a hospital for each violation of a requirement of this section. The department shall set the forfeiture in an amount sufficient to ensure compliance by hospitals with the provisions of this section subject to the limitations under par. (c).

AB353,17,6 (c) The forfeiture imposed under this subsection shall comply with all of the following:

AB353,17,8 1. In the case of a hospital with 30 beds or fewer, the forfeiture may not be lower than $600 for each day in which the hospital violates this section.

AB353,17,11 2. In the case of a hospital with a bed count that is greater than 30 but less than 101, the forfeiture may not be lower than $1,200 for each day in which the hospital violates this section.

AB353,17,14 3. In the case of a hospital with a bed count that is greater than 100 but less than 551, the forfeiture may not be lower than $2,500 for each day in which the hospital violates this section.

AB353,17,17 4. In the case of a hospital with a bed count that is greater than 550, the forfeiture may not be less than $10,000 for each day in which the hospital violates this section.

AB353,17,19 (d) Each day a violation of this section continues is considered a separate violation for purposes of this subsection.

AB353,17,21 (e) In determining the amount of the forfeiture under this subsection, the department shall consider all of the following factors:

AB353,17,22 1. Previous violations by the hospital’s operator.

AB353,17,23 2. The seriousness of the violation.

AB353,18,1 3. Any demonstrated good faith by the hospital’s operator.

AB353,18,2 4. Any other matters that the department determines is relevant.

AB353,18,7 (f) If a hospital desires to contest the imposing of a forfeiture under this subsection, the hospital shall, within 15 days after receipt of notice, notify the department in writing of its request for a hearing under s. 227.44. The department shall hold the hearing within 30 days after receipt of such notice and shall send notice to the hospital of the hearing as provided under s. 227.44 (2).

AB353,18,11 (g) All forfeitures shall be paid to the department within 15 days after receipt of notice of forfeiture or, if the forfeiture is contested under par. (f), within 15 days after receipt of the final decision after exhaustion of administrative review, unless the final decision is appealed and the order is stayed by court order.

AB353,18,17 (h) 1. All administrative remedies shall be exhausted before an agency determination under this subsection shall be subject to judicial review. Final decisions after hearing shall be subject to judicial review exclusively as provided in s. 227.52, except that any petition for review of department action under this subsection shall be filed within 15 days after receipt of notice of the final agency determination.

AB353,19,2 2. The court may stay enforcement under s. 227.54 of the department’s final decision if a showing is made that there is a substantial probability that the party seeking review will prevail on the merits and will suffer irreparable harm if a stay is not granted and that the hospital will meet the requirements of this section during such stay. When a stay is granted, the court may impose such conditions on the granting of the stay as may be necessary to safeguard the public and to assure compliance by the hospital with the requirements of this section.

AB353,19,6 3. The attorney general may delegate to the department the authority to represent the state in any action brought to challenge department decisions prior to exhaustion of administrative remedies and final disposition by the department under this subsection.

AB353,19,8 (i) The department shall remit all forfeitures paid under this subsection to the secretary of administration for deposit in the general fund.

AB353,19,12 (9) Legislative recommendations. Biennially, the department shall prepare a report to be distributed to the legislature in the manner provided in s. 13.172 (2) recommending amendments to this section, including recommendations in response to amendments to 45 CFR part 180.

AB353,11 Section 11. 50.42 of the statutes is created to read:

AB353,19,15 50.42 Restricting debt collection actions against patients for noncompliant hospitals. (1) In this section:

AB353,19,18 (a) 1. “Debt” means any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay money arising out of a transaction, whether or not the obligation has been reduced to judgment.

AB353,19,20 2. “Debt” does not include an obligation for business, investment, commercial, or agricultural purposes or an obligation incurred by a business.

AB353,19,21 (b) “Hospital items or services” has the meaning given in s. 50.40 (1) (g).

AB353,20,5 (2) A party seeking judgment against a patient for a debt owed for hospital items or services that are purchased for or provided to the patient by a hospital shall file a certification under oath to the court stating that the hospital that provided the hospital items or services to the patient is not, according to the department’s list under s. 50.40 (6) (c), out of compliance with the requirements of s. 50.40 as of the date of the certification before judgment may be entered in favor of the party seeking judgment.

AB353,12 Section 12. 51.036 (2) (b) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB353,20,12 51.036 (2) (b) 1. A crisis urgent care and observation facility certified under this section is not subject to facility regulation under ch. 50, unless otherwise required due to the facility’s licensure or certification for other services or purposes. A crisis urgent care and observation facility is not a hospital subject to approval under ss. 50.32 to 50.39 50.42 and nothing in this subsection limits services a hospital may provide under ch. 50.