The Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, which advances policies to force pharmacy benefit managers and hospitals to meet price transparency standards, passed on the House floor Monday by a vote of 320 to 71.
The comprehensive healthcare package looked doomed several months ago, despite bipartisan support from three separate House committees, when the legislation was pulled from a vote. Support has since coalesced around the proposals, as advocates anticipate the legislation could lower out-of-pocket costs for customers.
Of the dissenters, 39 Republicans and 31 Democrats voted against the bill with one Democrat voting present. It needed two-thirds majority to pass under suspension of the rules.
In addition to mandating providers and PBMs publicly list prices before they charge patients, hospitals will be required to publish charges through machine-readable files. The bill also calls for the elimination of $16 billion in disproportionate share hospital (DSH) program cuts through 2025, $7 billion in funds for the Medicaid Improvement Fund while allocating $15 billion in funds toward community health centers and programs to address physician shortages in underserved communities.
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