Kansas HB 2246: Amending oversight, administration and regulation of certain duties, responsibilities and activities of the insurance department relating to risk-based capital instructions, definition of long-term care insurance, conversion plans of reciprocals to mutual insurance companies, appointment and removal of securities commissioner and assessing penalties from excess lines and creating and authorizing certain transfers to the cancer research and public information trust fund for the university of Kansas medical center and changing the rate of the hospital provider assessment imposed by the department of health and environment and granting Wichita state university bonding authority for certain capital improvement projects.

Bill Text

As Amended by House Committee
Session of 2025
HOUSE BILL No. 2246
By Committee on Insurance
Requested by Representative Sutton
2-4
AN ACT concerning health and healthcare; relating to hospitals; requiring
that hospitals provide online pricing information for certain items and
services; enacting the consumer protection related to hospital price
transparency act; referring noncompliant hospitals to the United States
department of health and human services for enforcement purposes;
providing for civil actions against noncompliant hospitals.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. (a) Sections 1 through 4 3, and amendments thereto, shall
be known and may be cited as the consumer protection related to hospital
price transparency act.
(b) As used in the consumer protection related to hospital price
transparency act, "hospital" means the same as defined in K.S.A. 65-450,
and amendments thereto.
Sec. 2. (a) Pursuant to 45 C.F.R. § 180, each hospital operating in the
United States is required to provide clear, accessible pricing information
online about the items and services that each such hospital provides. Each
hospital that is licensed in Kansas pursuant to K.S.A. 65-427, and
amendments thereto, shall provide:
(1) A list of the hospital's top 300 procedures with corresponding
pricing information and a plain language description of each such
procedure included in a consumer-friendly format on a public-facing
website;
(2) upon request of a patient scheduled to receive an elective
procedure, a test or a service to be performed by the hospital or, upon
request of such patient's legally authorized representative, made not less
than three days in advance of the date on which such elective procedure,
test or service is scheduled to be performed, furnish the patient with an
estimate of the payment amount for which the patient will be responsible;
and
(3) written information about the patient's ability to request an
estimate of the payment amount pursuant to this section.
(b) The written information required pursuant to subsection (a)(3)
shall be posted in conspicuous public areas of the hospital, including
registration or admission areas, and included on any website maintained by
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35

HB 2246—Am. by HC 2
the hospital.
Sec. 3. (a) (1) The attorney general shall have the authority to enforce
the provisions of this act.
(2) Prior to July 1, 2025, the attorney general shall send each hospital
a letter notifying such hospital of the requirements of this act and its
effective date.
(b) If the attorney general finds that a hospital is noncompliant with
45 C.F.R. § 180, as in effect on July 1, 2025, then the attorney general
shall refer information about such hospital's noncompliant status to the
United States department of health and human services for enforcement
purposes.
Sec. 4. (a) (1) If a patient believes that a hospital was not in material
compliance with this act on the date that items or services were purchased
by or provided to the patient, then such patient or patient guarantor may
file a civil action against the hospital to determine if:
(A) The hospital was materially out of compliance with this act or
rules and regulations promulgated thereunder on the date that the items or
services were purchased or provided; and
(B) such noncompliance with this act is related to the items or
services purchased by or provided to the patient.
(2) (A) If the trier of fact finds that the hospital was materially out of
compliance with this act or rules and regulations promulgated thereunder,
after considering standards issued by the federal centers for medicare and
medicaid services and standards set by this act, the court shall order the
hospital to:
(i) Refund the payor any amount of the debt that the payor has paid
and pay a penalty to the patient or patient guarantor in an amount equal to
the amount of the debt;
(ii) move to dismiss, with prejudice, any collection action relating to
the debt and pay any attorney fees and costs incurred by the patient or the
patient guarantor relating to such action; and
(iii) cause to be removed from the patient or the patient guarantor's
credit report any report made to a consumer reporting agency relating to
the debt and take necessary actions to cause any report made to a
consumer credit agency relating to the debt to be removed from the
patient's or patient guarantor's credit report.
(B) The court shall provide a copy of the order issued pursuant to this
subsection to the attorney general to notify the attorney general of the
material noncompliance finding.
(b) Nothing in this act shall be construed to:
(1) Prohibit a hospital from billing a patient guarantor or third-party
payor, including a health insurer, for items and services purchased by or
provided to the patient; or
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
3