Hospital transparency law now in effect to protect patients from surprise medical fees
COLORADO, Colo. (KRDO) -- A bipartisan bill is now in effect that requires all hospitals in the state to post the prices for their services online. Hospitals that don't post those prices and bill patients' surprise fees, will be in violation of the law and subject to legal consequences.
“What HB22-1285 does for Coloradans, it says, 'Look, hospitals, if you're not being compliant with this federal executive order, you can't send patients to collections for a bill that you aren’t open and transparent about. If you did not post those prices as you are required to, then you don't have the ability to go into debt collectors and chase the consumer down," said Daneya Esgar, House Majority Leader and primary bill sponsor.
State legislators say this is a "common sense" way to help patients struggling with unfair debts.
It requires hospitals to be in compliance with the federal executive order, which requires the transparency of service prices. But until this law, transparency was hard to enforce at the state level.
Now, patients have the legal ground to sue hospitals that violate transparency laws.
Which is a win for patients and non-profits like the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, which advocates for those struggling with costly medical bills.
"Unfortunately, health care costs have ballooned with really no constraint, and so at this point, it's very easy to find yourself holding bills that are for thousands of dollars and you don't have the resources to pay for them," said Adam Fox, the nonprofit's Deputy Director.
Those patients who take legal action and win lawsuits against hospitals will be reimbursed by the unlawful hospital for their medical bills and their legal fees.
