Wilmington, North Carolina (WECT) – North Carolina Senate Passed the invoice On Thursday, it was designed to increase transparency from healthcare providers and reduce patient health costs and debt.
Senate Bill 316 was passed almost unanimously. Senators want patients to better understand medical costs in advance. This includes requesting procedure costs to communicate in advance, clarifying whether care is in- or out-of-network, and termination of post-care claims.
The law requires hospitals to submit quarterly reports at procedural costs, allowing patients to see which locations are the cheapest. CEOs who do not comply could face a fine of up to $2,000 a day.
Rankings in North Carolina The worst situation It’s a national medical debt, and the bill is trying to support it, saying hospitals must send itemized bills before they can bring patients to their collections to not pay them on time. According to the bill, the state audit department should also check costs and claims transparency at health facilities.
Other elements of the 15-page law include reducing the difficulty of opening new rehabilitation facilities in certain new areas, adding new restrictions to insurers to determine whether procedures or medications are covered using prior permissions, and prohibiting healthcare providers who charge facility fees at outpatient offices.
But the bill could face a difficult battle at the state capitol. The Senate has passed several bills in recent years with similar goals, but has made no progress in the House.
Copyright 2025 Wect. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
